Council continues crackdown on residents who fail to bring bins off city streets

COUNCIL officers will return to a largely student area of Leeds in the new year to continue a clampdown on those who leave bins lying around on the street.

Leeds City Council recently ran a six-week campaign to raise awareness of environmental issues in the Headingley and Hyde Park areas of the city.

Despite environmental teams sending out leaflets and letters and door-knocking to remind people of their responsibilities, five residents were given fixed penalty notices.

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After ignoring warning notices telling how to store their household waste and put it out for collection, five people in one house in Headingley, each received a notice to pay £75.

A further six properties have also been issued with warning notices for not bringing their bins in when they should.

Officers intend to return to the largely-student areas in the new year and if necessary, further action will be taken.

Coun Mark Dobson, the council’s executive member for environmental services, said: “Our environmental action teams put a lot of effort into making sure that local residents were well-informed about their responsibilities before the enforcement part of this campaign began.

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“I went out door-knocking with them myself and got plenty of positive feedback from people living in the area, so it’s disappointing to see people failing to so something as simple as bringing their bin in after it’s emptied.”

The campaign aimed to address problems with littering, poor parking and other environmental issues.

Residents have raised concerns the Hyde Park and Headingley areas of the city are blighted by litter and waste.

There is a particular problem over the summer months as students move in and out of properties. This summer more than 700 tonnes of waste was removed from the Hyde Park area, which has been plagued by major problems of fly-tipping by students.

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In the months building up to the recent bins crackdown the probation service helped with bin yard clearances and graffiti was removed. Communal bin areas are also being introduced in areas where space is tight.

Leeds is not the only Yorkshire city where efforts have been made to get students to show more pride in their neighbourhoods.

In York a campaign was launched last year after complaints about fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour in some parts of the city. York Council joined forces with York University’s students’ union to stage a series of events to try to get undergraduates involved in community projects.