Shrewsbury Day of Action will encourage people to ‘keep your town tidy’
A community Day of Action will take place in Shrewsbury town centre on Friday 3 March and its main focus will be encouraging people to ‘keep your town tidy’.
Organised by Team Shrewsbury, the Day of Action aims to raise awareness of the dropping of litter in the town – specifically the amount of cigarette litter being dropped on the street – and dog owners not clearing up after their dogs.
On Friday officers from West Mercia Police, Shropshire Council’s public protection team and Shrewsbury Town Council will be doing joint patrols in and around the town centre, sharing education and enforcement messages on littering and giving away free cigarette ‘Stub it out ‘ pouches and dog waste bags.
Team Shrewsbury is encouraging all residents and visitors to help keep Shrewsbury looking tidy by asking those who smoke to dispose of their cigarette ends responsibly. These can be fully extinguished in a mixed-use litter bin or by using a ‘Stub it out’ cigarette pouch that can then be emptied into a bin. Team Shrewsbury has some of these cigarette pouches available to give away on the day.
Dog owners are also asked to clean up after their dogs, bag the waste and put into any mixed-use bin.
On Friday 3 March, a town centre community litter pick will set off at 11am from Darwin’s Gate, Mardol.
Other community litter picks are taking place on Saturday 4 March in Radbrook and in Meole Village on Sunday 5 March.
Inspector Ed Hancox from West Mercia Police, and chair of Team Shrewsbury, said:
“This town centre Day of Action is about working in partnership to raise people’s awareness of the antisocial behaviour of littering and possible consequences of not disposing of things in the correct way. Days of action are one of a number of ongoing initiatives that Team Shrewsbury supports to help identify and tackle issues within communities.”
Andrew Bannerman, Shropshire Councillor for Quarry and Coton Hill, said:
“I’m pleased that Team Shrewsbury is highlighting issues around littering in the town. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place but we all need to play our part to keep it that way and dispose of litter, be that cigarette ends or dog waste, responsibly.”
For more information on the Day of Action or to find out how Team Shrewsbury can support you if you want to organise your own community litter pick, please contact Lucy Roberts in Shropshire Council’s Community Enablement Team on 01743 252328.
The Shrewsbury town centre Day of Action coincides with Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Great British Spring Clean’, which runs from 3 to 5 March.
Further information
Cigarette litter can account for over 40% of all litter collected in town centres. Not only do they look unsightly, cigarette ends are harmful to the environment taking up to 12 years to biodegrade, they can leak toxins into the watercourse, block drains and cause damage to mammals and plant life.
Dog mess is not only very unpleasant to step in, it can also carry harmful infections, the most widely known being toxocariasis.
Not picking up after your dog and dropping cigarette ends is classed as littering and the penalty for this is £75, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. Penalties not paid within 14 days can leave the offender open to prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500.
Team Shrewsbury is a partnership of Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council, West Mercia Police, Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service, Shrewsbury BID, Shrewsbury shopping centres, Shrewsbury Street Pastors, University Centre Shrewsbury, British Transport Police and the Safer Shrewsbury partnership. It focuses on equipping and empowering local people to identify and solve local problems, ultimately making Shrewsbury a better place to live, work and play.
