Council filming targets litter bugs
Updated on 02 January 2009
Residents are being filmed on the streets by one local council in a bid to stamp out littering and dog fouling.
Environmental enforcement officers in Hackney, London, have handed out more than 100 fines to people dropping cigarette butts, sweet wrappers and crisp packets during a series of action days.
The 11 environmental enforcement officers have not been given video cameras but are able to record video on the mobile phones they have been issued to provide an "accurate verbal and visual record" of incidents, Hackney Council said.
The fixed penalty notice fines, which are also being handed out to people who let their dog foul public places, are £80 each - reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days - and a failure to pay could result in prosecution.
A person who refuses to supply their name and address to officers is also committing an offence, Hackney council said.
Hackney's corporate director for neighbourhoods and regeneration, Fiona Fletcher Smith, said the council was determined to get tough on litter louts.
"The message is simple - bin it or cop it. We know it's a small minority of people who carelessly drop litter but it's something our residents are really fed up with," she said.
"With over a thousand bins in Hackney, there's no excuse for not using one. We all want to keep our streets clean but everyone needs to take responsibility to make Hackney cleaner, safer and greener."
The council spent £9 million collecting litter from the borough's streets last year.
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