An army of environmentally conscious volunteers, councillors and officials has helped clean-up Caerphilly Mountain
Led by Caerphilly County Borough Councilby Cardiff City Council, the 40 plus army picked up more than 1.5 tonnes of waste and litter.
Cllr Lyn Ackerman, cabinet member for public services and housing said: “This is an extremely beautiful part of our county borough with spectacular scenery, and is an area that attracts visitors and walkers in their thousands every year.
“While the vast majority of visitors are environmentally conscious and take their environmental responsibilities seriously, there is still a small minority of individuals whose irresponsible actions can tarnish our environment.
“This high profile clean-up will emphasise our commitment of taking pride in our environment and encourage the small minority who currently do not, to follow our lead. Moreover, this day of activity also emphasises our zero tolerance approach towards people who feel it is acceptable to drop litter.”
It's great to see our County looking so clean again. Thank you CCBC. It brings into focus though that you only prosecuted 39 people for dropping litter last year according to http://www.caerphillyobserver.co.uk/news/34231/fi…
Well done to the volunteers who performed a very important public service in cleaning up the mess caused by an uncaring minority. The problem remains though; pemalties for littering are small and rarely implemented. Contrast this with U.S. national parks, such as Yosemite or Kings Canyon, where fines are eye-watering for those caught despoiling the countryside. The result is a pristine environments, despite the easy access for thousands of visitors.
My own priority is discarded chewing gum, which covers the pavements all over our town. I know the caretaker of a local school, who worked hard to persuade children to dispose of gum in bins. He was constantly undermined by teachers, the supposed role models, who spat out their chewing gum with gay abandon all over the school grounds.