Volunteers from Sefton Council’s Housing Standards Team took to the streets of Bootle last month to clean rubbish left on the street.

In just two hours at the end of November, the team managed to collect 40 bags of street litter from Hawthorne Road and surrounding residential roads.

Cleaner streets

Glass bottles, clothing, drinks cans and takeaway boxes were among the waste that was collected and disposed of in the community skip on Clare Road.

The team worked on the streets which are situated within Sefton’s Selective Licensing area, improving the living conditions for residents within the locality. Selective Licensing refers to areas in which private landlords must apply to the Council for a licence to rent their property. Landlords are required to meet a range of conditions and show that they have appropriate arrangements in place for their tenants to store and dispose of refuse.

Equipment was provided by Bootle Together, who have recently purchased 50 litter picking sets for any member of the community who would like to help clean up their streets.

Preventing health risks

Cllr Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services said: “I would like to offer a huge thank you and well done to the team who took part in last month's litter pick.

“The impact of small acts such as this is immediately visible and it makes our streets look cleaner, more attractive and reduces the health risk that rats and flies can cause.

“Littering and fly-tipping is an epidemic across the country and the amount it costs us to tackle it could be spent elsewhere for the benefit or communities.”

Littering is a criminal offence and offenders can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £75 from authorised officers.

Illegal disposal of rubbish, also known as fly tipping, can result in a £400 Fixed Penalty Notice.

Help with your waste

There are 1300 public bins across the Borough which can be used for litter and dog waste and are emptied on a regular basis. Litter should be disposed in them or taken home.

People with excess waste that does not fit in their regular collection can take it to a local recycling centre, use the Council’s Bulky Item Collection, or hire a private service to collect it.

Cllr Fairclough added: “If you hire a third party to take away household waste, you may still be responsible if the waste is fly tipped.

“When hiring a contractor, you can ask to see the licence issued by the Environment Agency. Alternatively, you can call the agency directly on 03708 506 506 or check on their website.

“Make sure to keep hold of their details to show that you acted responsibly in case your rubbish is thrown away illegally.

“If a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. If fines are applied, it could end up being an expensive mistake.”

Anyone who sees an incident of fly-tipping can use this link to report it on the Sefton Council website.

You can also report fly-tipping by calling 0345 140 0845.

Anyone who would like to use the equipment can get in touch with Bootle Together.