Warning to litterbugs

The local authority says it collects over 900 tonnes of litter every year ant a cost of over £5 million.

Now the Scottish Government has launched the Towards a Litter-Free Scotland campaign with the goals fo reducing litter and flytipping, and also encouraging Scots to “Do the right thing and use the bin”, a message which will spread by means of advertising and online marketing.

In the campaign, various consequences of littering are demonstrated, particularly the shame of being caught in the act and given a spot fine of £80.

Council officers patrol across North Lanarkshire and will fine anyone they catch littering.

Also, in April the fine for fly tipping quadrupled to £200.

Councillor Helen McKenna NLC’s environmental convener, commented: “The millions of pounds we spend on picking up litter and removing flytipping droppped by irresponsible people would be far better used on improving local services for everyone.

“And the solution is very simple - put your rubbish in a bin or take it home. If you have larger items to get rid of, just phone the council for a special uplift or take it to one of our recycling centres for free.

“If everyone does the right things, we all enjoy safer, cleaner communities.”

If you wish to report fly tipping visit the website www.dumbdumpers.org , calling 0845 2 30 40 90 or contacting the council’s fly tipping hotline on 01698 403110.

And the advice to anyone who gets a spot fine is to pay up before things get worse.

Anyone who fails to pay a fixed penalty notice could face criminal prosecution and have their case go through the courts.

If that happens the penalties can increase to £2,500 for littering and £40,000 for flytipping.