Cyclone Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Rotherham have employed a private company to prosecute people dropping litter and fines have gone up from three hundred in 3 years to four thousand this year. Drop litter you get an 80 quid fine. This includes fly tipping and dog mess. I am usually against this sort of thing but in this instance I am all for it. Bloody scrubbers dropping litter, the city is a mess. Should Sheffield adopt this strategy? So long as the contract is worded well and the council retain oversight. It's easy for a performance driven contract to be set up, it's harder to ensure that the company don't abuse it. For example, someone was fined for dropping walnut shell on the floor. This is unreasonable, it's organic and incidental. On the other hand I don't suppose you want entire banana skins dropping on the floor in the city centre. ---------- Post added 13-12-2017 at 08:58 ---------- Added to the post. It is litter, fly tipping and animal waste they can fine you for. Sheffield does do it but they don't have the man power. Rotherham only managed 300 fines in 3 years before this company was brought in. If there's a profit for a private company though, then the council could hire the people, issue the fines (which more than cover the costs of the people) and invest the 'profit' in running better council services. Perhaps they should create a private company to keep it separate, but they should retain ownership, or 51% ownership at least. ---------- Post added 13-12-2017 at 09:00 ---------- I could design the posters with the quote ' don't throw yer crap outta the window, you irresponsible twit ' I'm not a fan of people who drop litter. I think they should fine people who ' spit ' too. Just remember that the stasi might get you on the day a fly flies into your mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy266 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I regularly litterpick a one hundred yard or so stretch of the road through Unstone, and usually collect a carrier bag full each time. Cans, bottles, fag packets are the main items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 We should have a compulsory deposit scheme on bottles and cans, 20p per item, that would massively reduce the littering of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaytie Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Time I spent in New York years ago bottles had a small refund sum when returning them to shops,. All the bag people used to collect any discarded in streets or the park to make a few cents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geared Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Rotherham have employed a private company to prosecute people dropping litter and fines have gone up from three hundred in 3 years to four thousand this year. Drop litter you get an 80 quid fine. This includes fly tipping and dog mess. I am usually against this sort of thing but in this instance I am all for it. Bloody scrubbers dropping litter, the city is a mess. Should Sheffield adopt this strategy? Given that the council are facing pretty big budget cuts it seems like a waste of money, the only pulled in 4 grand with is pittance for the cost of employing this company. How many people are employed patrolling the streets? Gotta be a team of them? Handing out the odd fine and doing nowt else? Would be better to just employ a few more litter pickers, doesn't educate the public but at least they'd clean up the mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Given that the council are facing pretty big budget cuts it seems like a waste of money, the only pulled in 4 grand with is pittance for the cost of employing this company. The company almost certainly runs the contract for a fee based on results, the results of course bring in fines, so I expect that it's a zero net cost to the council at worst, and actually makes a return at best. How many people are employed patrolling the streets? Gotta be a team of them? Handing out the odd fine and doing nowt else? Would be better to just employ a few more litter pickers, doesn't educate the public but at least they'd clean up the mess! A 'few' fines can more than pay for the people who are handing them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwkittie Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Yes absolutely, and anyone caught flytipping should have all their vehicles taken away and crushed. People dropping litter should all be made to do community service picking litter as well as being fined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmambo Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Yes absolutely, and anyone caught flytipping should have all their vehicles taken away and crushed. People dropping litter should all be made to do community service picking litter as well as being fined. Absolutely agree. I would go further, I suggest a public whipping or removal of a limb for offenders caught engaging in this horrifying practice - I'm sure a private company could be found to do this. They would think twice about doing it again. We should show the world how a civilised country solves it's problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 They do this up in Huddersfield, the results are interesting. Revenues from litter fines are up, but so are complaints of excessive and heavy-handed tactics by the private company involved, like following people around to see if they drop anything, lying about seeing smokers drop butt loudly and publically, the usual crop of "accidentally drop something, but immediately pick it up, and the litter inspectors swoop" and so on. Complaints to the council get told to "complain to the company" who then trot out the usual denials and non-apologies. Which is basically privatised council services all over, really. It works, if all you're interested in is revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willman Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 They do this up in Huddersfield, the results are interesting. Revenues from litter fines are up, but so are complaints of excessive and heavy-handed tactics by the private company involved, like following people around to see if they drop anything, lying about seeing smokers drop butt loudly and publically, the usual crop of "accidentally drop something, but immediately pick it up, and the litter inspectors swoop" and so on. Complaints to the council get told to "complain to the company" who then trot out the usual denials and non-apologies. Which is basically privatised council services all over, really. It works, if all you're interested in is revenue. But it does protect the council - who would otherwise be brow beaten by the media or the lefties to rethink the policy or abandon it. I have a similar issue with advertising boards nailed to posts and fences - but it isn't litter until it hits the floor apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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