Extra letter prompts council litter crackdown

A letter from the resident (p24) highlights rubbish strewn across the Williamwood Drive area, which they said had not been removed by bin men in last week’s collection.

The resident writes: “Bin bags have been piled up on the pavement, which the bin men didn’t remove as they were not in the bin, and the rubbish was strewn about the street.

“What an eyesore for residents. Isn’t it time East Ren Council were reviewing the uplift arrangements, or time those responsible were fined?”

An ERC spokesman responded: “As soon as cleansing were alerted to this, a team was sent to the street and, with help from the photos sent to The Extra, were able to locate the rubbish.

“This had been illegally dumped and was not left by residents, but it was uplifted.

“The following day, the team went back to double check all the rubbish had been removed and to ensure no further material had been dumped.”

The complaint follows East Renfrewshire Council’s pledge backing a national litter strategy.

It is estimated that littering and flytipping cost at least £53 million of public money and the campaign, Towards a Litter-free Scotland, includes a recent increase in fines, from £50 to £80 (£200 for flytipping).

Councillor Vincent Waters commented: “I urge everyone to do the right thing and dispose of waste properly. Littering is literally throwing money away.”