Littering in Wakefield has got worse during Covid pandemic, council says

Wakefield Council says littering has got worse since the start of the Covid pandemic.
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The local authority said it was encouraging people to take responsibility for their rubbish and to discard it properly.

It follows the emergence of a disgusting picture of beer cans, takeaway boxes and water bottles lying dumped at Sandal Castle, which surfaced on social media and drew outrage from local people this week.

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Speaking on a Facebook Q&A session on Tuesday, the council's portfolio holder for communities, Maureen Cummings, said it was "distressing" to see any rubbish dumped on the streets.

This photo of litter at Sandal Castle was posted on Facebook by Wendy Carter-Firth.This photo of litter at Sandal Castle was posted on Facebook by Wendy Carter-Firth.
This photo of litter at Sandal Castle was posted on Facebook by Wendy Carter-Firth.

She also revealed that cameras put up by the council to try to catch offenders had been stolen in the past.

"Sometimes you can put a waste bin in the street every 10 yards and still there would be people who'd discard their rubbish where it's convenient for them," Coun Cummings said.

"Cameras are a fantastic idea and we have tried them in the past to try to catch people out. But of course they have to be covert and very often they're found and stolen.

"So how do we combat that?"

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"We could put CCTV on every corner but I'm sure litterers would probably still find ways of dumping rubbish.

"But we're always looking at these issues."

Coun Cummings praised volunteers who spend their time picking litter up off the district's streets, describing them as "absolutely wonderful".

Glynn Humphries, the council's service manager for the environment said that the streets had been less litter-free during the pandemic because "resources have been quite stretched".

"We'd never use this as an excuse but in reality a lot of staff have been on alternative duties," he added.

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"There has been an increase in litter with more people at home so we are doing work over the next few weeks to try to get standards back to where they used to be.

"The litter comes from somewhere and we're encouraging people to be responsible.

"But we're working very hard with litter heroes and litter wardens."

Courts can fine litterers up to £2,500 for an offence.

Local Democracy Reporting Service