Angus Council wants to help its communities with the fight against litter and fly tipping.
That is why it has set up an annual fund to support local litter pickers and clean-up campaigners, which will also be available to help prevent the scourge of fly-tipping in Angus.
The Community Clean Up and Fly Tipping Prevention Fund will make £5000 available each year to help individuals or groups with their litter picking and efforts to stop fly tipping. That could be money to buy equipment, support training, or to put measures in place that could help to prevent the criminal activity of fly tipping.
The £5000 was ring-fenced within the Council’s 2020-21 budget as part of a raft of measures to tackle the blight of littering fly tipping and anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and graffiti.
Applications for the fund can be made through a simple process online. Awards will be between £50 to £500, but consideration would be given to making a larger grant in exceptional circumstances.
Communities Convener, Cllr Mark Salmond said: “There are people – individuals and groups, children and adults – who help us as a council and as a community in fair weather and foul through their determined efforts to tackle the scourge of litter.
“That pride they have in Angus and the places where they live is fantastic and we want to be able to give more than just praise in support of their efforts. We hope that this annual fund will help to do this. The sums may be modest in some respects, but we are confident they will help to make a significant difference.
“Money available could help to buy litter pickers of hi-visibility vests, hire cleaning equipment, such as a power washer, or to receive training on how best to remove graffiti. People will know what they need to tackle issues in their neighbourhood and we hope this fund will help.”
Litter is not the sole focus for the fund and applications to help prevent fly tipping will also be favourably considered.
Fly tipping, as with litter, affects everyone. It is bad for the environment and can have a negative impact on how people feel about the places where they live, work and play.
Angus does suffer from fly tipping, in common with all parts of Scotland. There are an estimated 60,000 fly tipping incidents every year in Scotland, comprising of 26,000 tonnes of dumped items, and it costs almost £9 million to clean up.
Communities Vice Convener, Cllr Tommy Stewart said: “Our preference would be to try and prevent fly tipping from happening in the first place over counting the cost of clearing it up.
“The new fund adds strength to that approach. We would welcome applications from anyone who wants assistance in keeping the fly tippers at bay. For example, funds could go towards the purchase of camera equipment, fencing, placing of bollards or boulders – all valuable deterrents, particularly in warding off fly tippers from private land.
“I’d also take this opportunity to remind householders that if they are having unwanted items removed from their home, they should check the firm they intend to use is a licensed waster carrier, or consider using the council’s Special Uplifts Service. If they don’t and their property is fly tipped, they are complicit in this criminal behaviour.”
Projects that assist with the clean-up of litter or prevent fly tipping in Angus will be considered. Go to the Community Clean Up and Fly Tipping Prevention Fund for further details.
Angus Council
Angus Council works to create strong secure communities, an enterprising workforce, and sustainable development over the range of public services for which it has responsibility. We are a customer and citizen focused organisation and work to deliver accessible, effective and efficient services for the county\'s population.
