A private security firm are being brought in by Walsall Council’s Lib/Lab Coalition to combat litter louts throughout the borough.

The new initiative which will begin at the end of September will see a team of specialist officers from 3GS handing out on the spot fines of £80 for littering and tackling dog fouling, dog control orders and fly-tipping.

As part of the clampdown on littering overt and covert operations and investigations will also be carried out into incidents of fly-tipping; an on-going issue for Walsall Council, with a number of problem areas already identified.

Officers will be patrolling streets, parks and open spaces throughout the Borough and have legal powers to stop anyone they see committing an environmental crime such as littering and will request their name, address and proof of identity.

Anyone refusing to cooperate with the officers should be aware that it is a criminal offence not to provide such details and they can be prosecuted under Section 8(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in addition to the original environmental crime.

Failure to do this will result in criminal prosecution and fine of £1000 (level 3), together with a criminal conviction at the Magistrates’ Court. Footage of alleged offenders who fail to cooperate with officer’s will be shared with the Police and identified offenders will be prosecuted.

Talking about the litter clampdown Councillor Jones portfolio holder for Clean and Green stated: “We want people to understand that littering is a crime and shows a total disregard for the people of Walsall and the borough we live in.

“These new measures will act as a deterrent to anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to commit these types of offences.

LibDem Cllr Ian Shires portfolio holder for the Change Agenda said “When we are being forced by the Westminster Government to slash a further £100 million from our budgets over the next four years the last thing we need is to be shelling out hundreds of thousands of pounds each year to clean up after folk who have no respect for the place in which they live.”

Paul Buttivant, Managing Director of 3GS the environmental services business appointed to enforce this new regime said “We are extremely pleased to be working in partnership with Walsall Council. We’d like to reassure the community that only those who choose to ignore the law will be dealt with by our officers by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice.”

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