Just two external litter officers left covering Council area

An external waste enforcement company tasked by a local council to enforce fines for littering is now operating just two officers in the area.

WISE (Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement) were brought in on a 12-month trial basis by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council last summer.

Their tenure in the Council area has been dogged by complaints they are focusing on 'easy pickings' by enforcing a disproportionate number of fines for dropping cigarette butts.

A number of councillors met representatives from WISE before this month's Environmental Services Committee meeting, where they were told the company had reduced the number of officers in the area.

Cllr Darryl Wilson told the Committee there were now just two WISE-employed enforcement officers operating in the area.

“We got interesting feedback. The number of enforcement officers at the start was seven, eight and it's down to about two now,” he said.

“Issues were raised by Cllr McAuley of patrols outside what you would call work hours and there seem to be difficulties there.

“They were the difficulties that were raised at this Committee before WISE were even brought in, that we wanted to push outside those times.”

Following a question from Cllr Alan McLean, a council officer confirmed that the council previously had seven or eight of their own officers tasked with litter enforcement.

Since the beginning of the WISE trial, he told the Committee those officers had been diverted to alternative roles.

Under the current arrangement, the Council collects a small fee for each fixed penalty notice issued, with projections showing possible income of £18,000 in the first year.

Despite the concerns raised, a proposal from Cllr Sandra Hunter to continue to meet with the company in two months' time was passed.

“I was thinking that we give them two months,” she said.

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“We said at the end of the meeting we would like to see them move out into the more rural areas and urban areas that aren't being facilitated as much.

“With the time changing, and the longer days, we'll hopefully see more litter enforcement in these outer areas; over to the Glens and to Limavady.

“I do believe there is some good in it, but I would like to see the figures change maybe a bit.”

Cllr Richard Holmes said it was important the Council maintained dialogue with the litter enforcement company and seconded the proposal.

“I would like to see a greater focus on dog fouling and WISE being in the public areas,” he said.

“That is the reason we brought them in but we need to have that dialogue with them to channel them to where we need them to go.

“People who litter don't draw a distinction between a country road or a town centre; a litter lout is a litter lout, but WISE do need a bit more focus in our areas.”

Cllr McQuillan said WISE were not doing what he anticipated when the Council proposed bringing them on board.

“The main reason was all the complaints of dog dirt, and they haven't looked at that at all,” he said.

“They're only interested in cigarette butts and too interested in the likes of Sainsbury's and Tesco car parks – where it's nothing to do with us at all.

“They're here to get as much money out of this as possible, and to tell you the truth; I'm glad they haven't been out in the rural areas, and I wouldn't want them out there either.”

Cllr McAuley, who had withdrawn a proposal not to meet with WISE again, said other councillors were welcome to take his place at the meeting.

“If some of our colleagues think it's beneficial, who would I be to stop it,” he said.

“Ther is a free space to meet them, so anybody that wants the enjoyment of an hour with them can certainly have my seat.”

Figures presented to the Committee showed that of the 1,855 fines handed out since the trial began in August, 1,042 (56%) were for dropping cigarette butts.

1,237 (67%) of all fines were handed out for offences in Coleraine, with 210 (11%) in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, and 174 (9%) in Limavady.

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