Manchester's war on rubbish: More fines and CCTV as streets blighted by litter and fly-tipping

Councillors are expected to approve a motion calling for more stringent action to tackle littering and fly-tipping in the city at a full council meeting on Wednesday (March 19). The motion, proposed by Labour councillors and backed by the executive, says ‘too many people and communities are blighted by the scourge of littered streets and fly-tipping’.

“Despite the vital work of community groups and council services cleaning our streets, now is the time to step up the fight to clean our streets,” it adds. “From litter thoughtlessly dropped, to repeat rogue landlords and businesses dumping their rubbish on our streets — enough is enough.

“Together we will win the war on rubbish and clean up our streets.”

Manchester council reportedly conducted 5,794 investigations into fly-tipping last year, which led to 1,070 fines and 334 prosecutions, the motion goes on. However, councillors believe more should be done.

Littering fines are already set to rise from £150 to £180 next month, but town hall chiefs say the penalty ‘should be higher’.

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More money should also be invested to ‘increase the capacity of the team that handles investigations and issues fines’, they argue.

Another measure in the fly-tipping ‘war’ will be ‘expanding CCTV for the worst offending areas’ and ‘looking at how we can use new technology to roll out cameras and enforcement in these hotspots’.

But efforts will also be made to encourage Mancs to do the right thing, with a public awareness campaign and ‘community skips’ potentially in the offing.

The motion has been submitted just weeks after Manchester council approved its annual budget for the next financial year, which included £4.6m for extra street cleaning and improving green spaces.

“Residents told us loud and clear in our recent budget consultation that keeping neighbourhoods clean was their top priority and we have responded to that with this extra investment,” Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, executive member for finance, said. “We are pleased to be in a position where we can deliver a budget that works for Manchester people.”

The ‘war on rubbish’ motion will be debated by Manchester council on Wednesday, March 19, at 10am. You can watch the meeting online here.