Children from across Haverhill have signed up to show their support for a hard-hitting new campaign designed to keep the borough clean, green and free from litter.
The six-month “no excuses” campaign has seen St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council join forces to spread the message that there’s no justification for dropping any type of litter – no matter how small. The campaign will begin by focussing on food and drink litter, and will change each month to include chewing gum, throwing litter from vehicles, fly tipping, dog mess and cigarette ends.
Everyone will be encouraged to do their bit as part of the campaign, from organising litter picks to raising awareness among their local community. Special “no excuses” branding has been developed to help spread the message, featuring a number of common excuses which people use for dropping litter along with responses to rebut those excuses. Throughout the campaign, a series of eye-catching posters will also be displayed around the borough to help raise awareness of the problem.
The campaign has already won the support of 3rd and 4th Haverhill Brownies (picture attached), who have made posters and will be organising a litter pick. Children from Risby Primary School, near Bury St Edmunds will also be recording a jingle to be aired on Radio Suffolk.
Cllr Nigel Roman, Forest Heath District Councillor and chair of the Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury joint waste committee, said:
“This campaign is designed to remind everyone to dispose of their litter in the right way so that we can keep our streets and countryside clean and green for us all to enjoy. We are fortunate to live in the beautiful county of Suffolk and, with a little effort from the whole community, we can make sure it stays that way.”
Cllr Peter Stevens, portfolio holder for environment and street scene at St Edmundsbury and vice chair of the joint waste committee, said:
“We hope that this campaign will help raise awareness of the problems associated with different types of litter while encouraging everyone to keep the borough clean and tidy. We want to spread the message that disposing of rubbish properly only takes a second, but does make a big difference.
“As well as being anti-social habit, dropping litter has a financial consequence for all of us as we end up paying for it to be cleared up though our Council Tax bills. Putting your rubbish in a bin will help us keep that bill as low as possible – again showing there really are no excuses for dropping litter.”
Any individuals, groups or businesses that would like some promotional material to show their support for the campaign or help with developing new ideas to tackle litter in their community, should contact waste management on 01284 757320.
Ends
Issued by Sally Easton, Communications Unit, St Edmundsbury Borough Council. Phone: 01284 757033 Email: sally.easton@stedsbc.gov.uk
