Council’s £3.4m bill for cleaning

Council’s £3.4m bill for cleaning

30 November 2016

OVER £3million was spent trying to keep the Newry, Mourne and Down area clean last year, according to a leading environmental charity.

New figures released by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful reveal the £3.4m amount spent keeping roads, streets and open spaces litter free across the district represented a six per cent increase on the amount spent over the previous 12 months.

However, the charity says while the spend on keeping the district clean represents an “expression of serious intent,” the number of people caught and fined for littering in the district has decreased by almost seven per cent to 115.

The figures, which were gathered by the environmental charity from financial statements and enforcement records from all of Northern Ireland’s local authorities, indicate how hard they have worked to hold back a tide of unsightly and harmful litter. 

Charity chief executive, Dr Ian Humphreys, said council staff work day and night to keep streets clean, but more and more is being spent each year just to stand still. 

He believes that if Newry, Mourne and Down was able to bring down the £3,350,344 cost of cleaning up litter, “think of how many more parks, leisure facilities and services the council would be able to provide to the public.”

Dr Humphreys said tackling the cost of litter is not just good for the environment and society but also public services. 

“This cost is why most councils have now come together with others, to deliver the Live Here Love Here initiative. This is building community pride and starting work on the real solution which is to prevent litter being ped in the first place,” he continued.

“Many people will wonder where the money for street cleansing comes from and the answer is that councils pay it from their rates, with the average annual charge to every ratepayer in the country around £58.”

He added: “In a fair society, the polluter would pay for the clean-up but at this stage the ratepayers of Newry, Mourne and Down are footing the bill for other peoples’ carelessness. The total raised by fixed penalties to be set against the cost of cleansing was £5,150.”

Downpatrick councillor, Dermot Curran, said if people were more careful about disposing of their litter and waste, less would have to be spent cleaning up after them.

“The bottom line is that money saved on keeping the district clean could be used to reduce rates bills or spend the money providing more frontline services. Keeping our district clean is a statutory obligation and resources must be allocated to allow this work to be carried out,” he said.

Councillor Curran added: “Our district cleansing staff do a wonderful job and should be praised for the work they do away from the glare of the spotlight. If we all did a little bit more it would help ease the burden on them, ensure our area is always clean and tidy and save ratepayers more than a few quid.”