Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
No room for let up in the battle against litter says Minister
Environment Minister Jonathan Shaw today urged the public and local authorities to continue the fight for cleaner streets as he published a new environmental survey.
Graffiti tags and dog fouling have decreased since last year, but cigarette ends are still the most widespread kind of litter on our streets - found in 78% of sites surveyed - and fast food litter remains at the same level as last year.
The Local Environment Quality Survey of England is carried out annually for Defra by ENCAMS, the organisation behind the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, and monitors a representative sample of 54 local authorities across England to give a national and regional picture of how clean our streets are.
Speaking to the ENCAMS Cleaner Safer Greener Network conference today, Jonathan Shaw said:
"We know that for most people the idea of using the pavement as a dustbin is unthinkable. The simple fact is that litter is caused by a handful of people who really don't care that the problem they create costs everyone money to sort out and impacts on the quality of life for all of us.
"We know too that local authorities are using the new powers we've given them to tackle the problem. Fixed Penalty Notices are up, and fine payment rates are up. They are doing more to remove the offending litter and keep the streets clean.
"This survey shows that we are making progress in some areas. But there is much room for improvement and we can't let up in the battle against this blight.
"Worryingly this year we are seeing yet another high level of cigarette litter. This survey covers the period before the smoking ban came into effect, so it's important that we redouble efforts to crack down on those who think it's okay to use the pavement as an ashtray. Blaming the smoking ban for an increase in cigarette litter would be nonsense of course. The only thing that creates litter is people, and the minority who choose to drop it on the ground rather than put it in a bin have no excuse for their behaviour."
Headline findings from 2006-07 include:
* Fast food, which has risen every year since the survey began six years ago, was unchanged from last year at around 24% of the sites surveyed.
* Dog fouling is down slightly, from 8% in 2005-06 to 7% in 2006-07.
* The tag component of graffiti has declined, from 37% two surveys ago to 31% in the latest one.
* Cigarette litter is down from 79% to 78%.
* Public Transport infrastructure is the cleanest land-use type.
A website designed specifically for the local environment management sector, and aimed at employers, employees and training suppliers, was launched at today's conference.
Jonathan Shaw added:
"Help is being given to the poorer performing authorities through ENCAMS to help them improve the quality of their local environment. We hope that the launch of a new environmental skills website today will support that work by offering tips and know-how to anyone involved in any activity that improves the local environment."
The survey presents a mixed picture across the regions:
South East
* Improved standards of litter and detritus collection
* Top across the regions for litter and detritus
* Above national benchmarks in staining, graffiti at bus stops and litter on landscaping
* Highest performing in all categories
* Across the 32 environmental elements has never dropped below the national benchmarks
London
* Standards have improved in two areas - litter and detritus
* There has been a significant drop in the amount of graffiti (16% - 10%)
* Rated top for weed growth and posts and poles
* No site in London is classified as below satisfactory for fly tipping
* Most improved region
* London has had the best turnaround in four of the key environmental elements
South West
* Performing significantly better than the national benchmark levels of pavement obstruction and litter at bus stops
* Joint cleanest region in England
West Midlands
* Remained at the national benchmarks for the key cleansing and cleansing related indicators
* Fly posting remained at 1%
East Midlands
* Only a 1% rise in fly posting and graffiti was recorded over the year
East of England
* Graffiti at bus stops was better than the national benchmarks
* Graffiti and fly posting remained low from the year 5 benchmarks
North West
* Remained stable with scores on fly posting the same as last year
* Only a 1% increase in the levels of litter and detritus waste from last year
* Average scores for graffiti
Yorkshire and the Humber
* Top for improvements in graffiti
* Improving steadily across all indicators
North East
* Scores were either at or close to national benchmarks for most of the environmental indicators
* Only waste placed out and pavement obstruction were regarded as slightly below national benchmarks
Notes for Editors
The LEQSE survey is carried out for Defra by ENCAMS and covers arepresentative sample of 54 local authorities across the nine regions of England. This is the sixth such survey to have been conducted. The full results are available online at http://www.encams.org/uploads/publications/LEQSE_Year_6_Report.pdf
Defra has funded an extended LEQSE survey across every local authority in England. The results for half those surveyed are available now, the remainder will be published later this year. Those already published can be seen on the DirectGov website at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/WhereYouLive/Streetcleaninglitterandillegaldumping/DG_068470
The new environmental skills website is at http://www.localenvironmentskills.org.
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
Defra's aim is sustainable development
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Defra's mailing list go to: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/ Once on the GNN website see Sign up
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Website
http://www.defra.gov.uk
