Great Yarmouth litter-pickers say town is getting tidier

Members of the town's Civic Society had taken their grabbers and rubbish bags to the Rows along King Street from Christchurch to Lloyds bank.

Among the trash they cleared away were cigarette butts, bottles, cans and paper. 

The day after the clean-up, however, they found that a new pile of rubbish including cardboard boxes, clothes hangers and plastic bags had been dumped in Row 64.

Hugh Sturzaker, chairman of Great Yarmouth Civic Society. (Image: Archant) READ MORE: 'People seem to prefer TV' - Festival boss blames low turnout on 'couch potatoes'

Hugh Sturzaker, chairman of the Civic Society, said: "What sort of person does this?"

Despite the unwanted discovery, he added, recent weeks have seen the town "beginning to look tidier".

"One of the reasons is that council workers are cleaning up some of the streets, there are fewer visitors in the town and we hope that as people find the place looking tidier they are less likely to drop litter," he said.

Anecdotal evidence suggests the two main culprits are cigarette butts, which are difficult to pick up, and bird droppings in some of the Rows.   

A pile of flytipped rubbish in Row 64 in Great Yarmouth. (Image: Great Yarmouth Civic Society)

READ MORE: Norfolk town hit by 500pc increase in fly-tipping - but there's a good reason why

Cigarette butts, which contain arsenic, are most common outside public houses and are a hazard to fish as many are swept via the drains out to sea, Mr Sturzaker said. 

He urged owners of public houses to consider putting containers for cigarette butts outside their properties.

Another option was to make more use of CCTV and borough council environmental rangers to prosecute those who drop litter, he said. 

Councillor Paul Wells, Great Yarmouth Borough Council's portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, licensing and waste said: ‘’The council has an excellent collaborative relationship with the Civic Society and is enormously grateful for its efforts in working to improve the town for everyone.

‘’It is hugely disappointing that when hard-working volunteers try so hard - alongside our street cleansing teams - to keep Great Yarmouth tidy, that a small minority of people dump waste," he added.

A photograph showing fly-tipped waste - Illegally dumped waste causes damage and cost to communities and the environment. (Image: Great Yarmouth Borough Council)

'People behaving responsibly'

Mr Wells said that the vast majority of residents are considerate and take pride in the town but, wherever possible, the council prosecutes those who fly tip.

"We have a successful track record of doing so and it is essential people report incidents to us and provide us with any information they can to help us take the action we know the community wants," he said.

‘’People work incredibly hard to try to keep the borough tidy, but we can only be successful with the support of the community and people behaving responsibly.

The council’s environment rangers investigate reports of fly-tipping and offenders face an unlimited fine and/or a jail sentence under the Environmental Protection Act.

Fly-tipping in the borough can be reported via the Love Clean Streets app or website, via email at environmentalrangers@great-yarmouth.gov.uk or by calling 01493 846478.