THIS week the city council revealed plans to make Worcester the cleanest city in the UK, but how likely is this?

The council wants to use tough new laws to tackle litterbugs and businesses that create rubbish.

Under the Government's new Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, chewing gum and cigarettes can be treated as litter and the council can set its own fines for dropping these - it has announced a maximum penalty of £2,500.

A special hit squad will be launched next week, along with a reporting hotline for fly tippers. Wardens and community support officers will also enforce the new rules.

Fast-food outlets such as McDonald's will be made to make checks of their premises three times a day to keep them clean.

Councillor Derek Prodger, portfolio holder at the city council for the Clean, Green and Safe campaign, has explained how serious the council is about it.

He said: "We will be very pro-active. We will be asking people first to pick up their litter, and if they refuse, there will be prosecutions.

"I want to make it very clear now that I am very serious about keeping this city clean and it is my personal objective to make it the cleanest in the country. I will fight and fight until that happens.

"The maximum fine for dropping litter is £2,500 and we will not be frightened to penalise people by that amount. That's how serious this situation is."

Coun Prodger has revealed that people are already going in the right direction. Draft figures released on Tuesday show that 27 per cent of Worcester's population is now recycling, up 10 per cent on this time last year.

Schools are also increasingly doing their bit and many have been rewarded under the European-wide ECO programme for their efforts.

As part of this new campaign, the environmental charity, the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust will step up its waste and recycling workshops in schools. The trust has funding from the Arts Council to employ a creative workshop arts officer for 12 months to run more than 80 sessions.

The trust will also expand its volunteer litter warden scheme, in which it already has 70 members.

Wardens, as well as clearing up areas, will also be responsible for helping to report cases of littering or fly tipping and grot spot locations.

Community support officers are also to be responsible for watching out for litter pickers and will be given the powers to issue on-the-spot fines. A big emphasis will also be put on prevention though and on the improvements that are already being made.

Coun Prodger added: "One of the key proposals is to develop a series of posters that can be used to raise awareness of these issues.

"There will be a new campaign slogan so we can have a coherent message throughout. We do not want to take an entirely negative stance, we also want to focus on some of the positive actions that are happening in the city.

"I believe I have the support of the majority if the residents in Worcester and a lot of big businesses have already come on board.

"Credit is given where it is due and I know that if we all work together then we can make Worcester the cleanest city in the country."

The campaign will be launched on Wednesday, April 19, when the idea is to have a giant mountain of rubbish outside the Guildhall to show much litter is generated in Worcester every day.