GOOD old BDC (Bromsgrove District Council), or should that be B-DIY?

It has come up with another nifty solution to another one of its council-generated problems. You know all that rubbish around town? Well apparently we should be picking it up ourselves!

So, when are we all going on street-cleaning courses? When do we get our equipment? What will we be paid for this work?

Not paying us? OK, so what reduction are we all going to get off our council tax for doing work that we pay the council to do?

And although all rubbish is unhealthy to handle, what insurance cover do we all have against picking up the serious 'nasties' like needles, condoms, etc?

Don't get me wrong - I abhor litter. I never drop it and if I see someone littering the street, I'll ask them to pick it up. Surely the council would do better by encouraging people not to litter in the first place - rather than just expecting us all to pick up other people's rubbish.

Far from being a great council solution to give 'pride in the area', this thinly veiled attempt to save money is dangerous, insulting and shows it has no respect for the local residents they are supposed to serve!

Sue Haswell

Bromsgrove

l THANK you to everyone who has written, phoned, faxed or e-mailed us following the launch of Pride In Your Patch - the response has been exactly what we hoped. It has sparked a debate on litter. It is making people aware of the problem in and around the district - and it's a situation we can all play a part in improving.

Yes, the council can do better and it would be the first to admit so - but I cannot understand a seemingly negative response from some quarters.

Let's get one matter straight first and foremost - Pride In Your Patch is an Advertiser/Messenger campaign. It is not Bromsgrove District Council's. We asked it to back us and it has given us its support. The spirit of the campaign is to make everyone more aware of the problems caused by litter, to encourage people to use bins or take their rubbish home and dispose of it correctly and to take a pride in where they live.

The council, nor ourselves, is expecting residents to go around armed with sacks or driving vans or lorries collecting vast quantities of waste. And it, nor ourselves, certainly wouldn't expect anyone to go around picking up dangerous objects.

As we said last week, if any groups do decide on a little patrol in their own patch they must do so with the utmost care. In recent years Rubery has held a number of successful litter picks with the support of local residents - none of whom has expected or asked to be paid!

Hopefully, if shops, businesses, schools, and other organisations display the Pride In Your Patch poster that was printed on page three last week then it will further encourage everyone to heed the message regarding litter.

EDITOR

l COUNCILLOR Mrs Margaret Sherrey, cabinet member responsible for Street Scene and Waste Management, said: "I cannot understand why people attribute the responsibility of litter to the council when it is clearly their responsibility.

"The aim of the campaign is to make people aware that dropping litter is totally unacceptable. It is a criminal offence, an eyesore and can be a health hazard.

"We do our best to try and keep the district clean and tidy and are asking people, through this campaign, to support us in every way they can. We do not want them to go out and litter pick on their own because people need to know how to deal with difficult objects such as knives and needles. Of course, the ideal solution to the problem is for people not to drop litter in the first place.

"Most people do act responsibly but it is those that do not who we are trying to educate to make Bromsgrove district a cleaner and safer place to be."

Depot services manager, Kevin Hirons, said litter left after a collection was an issue the council was looking to correct and urged residents to place their red box on top of their blue box to stop plastics blowing away.

"If anyone finds they have too much recycling to fit in to the blue box they should contact the council's customer service centre on 01527 881288 and ask for an additional one," he added.