Mansfield District Council is launching a major month-long campaign to clean up Forest Town.

The action, which starts on 25th January, has been sparked by an increase in complaints about litter being dropped by customers of takeaways and shops in the Sandlands Way retail park area.

This rubbish often ends up being thrown from cars along Fulmar Close, Sandlands Way, Old Mill Lane and New Mill Lane. To combat the issue, after complaints from residents, the council responded by increasing the frequency of street cleaning.

But because tackling some of these areas safely involves having to install temporary traffic lights, it is a costly on-going problem to deal with and the council is hoping this anti-litter campaign will deliver a more long-term and cost-effective solution.

As part of the campaign, council neighbourhood wardens will be patrolling from early in the morning until late at night, when the retail park closes, to catch litter droppers and issue them with £75 penalty notices.

Schools and community groups are also being encouraged to support the campaign by organising litter picks in appropriate areas and designing posters and stickers, and by signing up for training as a champions of the area.

Businesses are being encouraged to pledge support for the campaign and to improve their own litter picking operations.

As part of the action, there will be:
•Promotional banners and posters at businesses in the area warning people that they could be fined for dropping litter and encouraging employees of food establishments to report litter droppers.
•Campaign stickers for food cartons, carrier bags and bins, and coffee cup wraps.
•Community litter picks.

It is hoped that if the campaign is a success, the council will be able to roll the same ideas out to other areas of the district with similar issues. It also aims to build connections with other local authorities and businesses to develop the campaign.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Mick Barton, who has been instrumental in driving the campaign, said: “What we want to achieve with this campaign will be a win-win situation for everyone. The area will look better and that will reflect well on those who live there and the businesses based there.

“But we also want to send out a strong message that dropping litter will not be tolerated. We will find you and we will fine you if you drop litter, so the answer is simple: bin your rubbish every time.

“Forest Town is a growing area and it looks lovely most of the time but unfortunately we do still get people dropping litter. So, come on! Do your bit and we can all help to create a clean neighbourhood that we can be proud of.”