Council has contributed to litter and fly-tipping problem in South Tyneside, say readers

Readers say that the issue has got worse in South Tyneside since the council scrapped weekly bin collections, and that there is not enough road sweepers in the borough.

Members of South Tyneside Council’s Place Select Committee will meet at Jarrow Town Hall on Tuesday to discuss a range of new measures.

They include on-the-spot fines, CCTV cameras and a special ‘snitching’ mobile phone app to reduce the borough’s £2million annual clean-up bill.

Readers commenting on the Gazette’s Facebook page feel the council should shoulder some of the blame for the current situation.

Sheila Tebble posted: “We need weekly brought back then people wouldn’t be tipping. Cut councillors’ wages instead of the services.”

Joanne McKie added: “Definitely should bring back weekly collections.

“My bin is always full about three days after it has been emptied, and it has got to take the rest of the rubbish until it’s emptied again to the tip.”

Joy Pinkie said: “I’d pay 30 quid a year for them to return black bin collections to weekly!”

Richard Moore posted: “They’ve removed nearly all litter bins from the street and bus shelters, and removed street cleaning regimes from most areas that aren’t Cleadon or East Boldon.

“I walk past the same litter and flytipped waste for months, continually reporting it on their website until finally getting sick and picking it up myself.

“The council look like they’ve given up to me.”

Morgan Pearce added: “It’s not enough the greedy council has destroyed King Street with its ridiculous rates – it’s creating more problems on the streets with more ridiculous charges.

“They have no one to blame but themselves yet again.”

Keith Yage said: “Haven’t seen a road sweeper around my estate in weeks.”

Coun Audrey McMillan, chairwoman of the council’s Place Select Committee, said: “The problem of litter and fly tipping is clear to see, but much harder to tackle.

“The cost to the council of dealing with litter and fly tipping is around £2million a year, and I’m sure in these financially challenging times people can think of far better ways of using this money.

“We may also want to consider providing more information for people to try to raise awareness of the damage this type of activity causes. Littering and fly tipping is irresponsible, illegal and can be hazardous – both to people and wildlife.

“We recognise how these issues blight our borough and are determined to address this head-on.”