Town council plans major crackdown on littering in Navan

Anyone creating litter in Navan could end up before the courts as Navan Town Council prepares to crack down on littering as part of the Cleaner Greener Navan campaign, which will be launched later this month. The campaign is part of the overall Navan Pride of Place initiative to transform the town into one of the finest in the country, and will tackle litter, especially the amount of cigarette butts and chewing gum being dropped on the town's streets. It will involve enforcement of litter legislation and the issuing of fixed penalty notices through use of CCTV cameras, concentrating on bring centres, litter blackspots, litter bins and public areas. At a meeting of Navan Town Council last week, councillors heard the campaign would involve an educational programme in conjunction with the primary schools in Navan to encourage recycling and all primary schools have submitted applications to the cleanest primary schools competition. Schools and community groups have also signed up to the 'Can It' recycling challenge. The council is also looking at the creation of a secondary schools junior street wardens programme and is writing to all publicans, shop-owners, nightclubs and takeaways in relation to the problem of fly posting and general litter issues, seeking support. There will be increased dog-fouling patrols in the town, pooper scoopers and pooper scooper bins will be provided on the Sli na Slainte walking route and the council will donate litter-pickers, gloves and bags to residents' associations and will provide 180 new gum bins in the town. The launch of the Cleaner Greener Navan campaign will take place at Kennedy Place, Navan, on 28th April. Trimgate Street, Watergate Street, Kennedy Place, Ludlow Street and Kennedy Place will be targeted in the annual gum cleansing programme and signage will be provided, supporting the Pride of Place Campaign, while the environmental enforcement officer will issue fines for environmental offences. As part of the campaign, Navan Town Council staff will carry out early morning litter picks as well as emptying bins, sweeping around benches, bike racks, telephone boxes and shop fronts in the town centre. They will also clean up any dog fouling, as well as sweeping paths manually and with mechanical sweepers. There will be increased frequency of street-cleaning and litter bins will also be emptied in the late afternoon. The council is urging businesses to ensure the area outside of their premises is kept clean and tidy and they will be asked to display posters to raise awareness of the campaign. A confidential freephone number will be provided to report littering - whether that is discarding rubbish from a vehicle, throwing away cigarette ends or chewing gum, as well as fly-posting and graffiti. Meanwhile, the Spotless Streets competition will be judged during July and August. Cllr Joe Reilly said the council would have to get back to cleaning the streets on weekends and suggested that some places in the town needed double litter bins as he said there were parts of the town where bins get full very quickly. Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said the cleaner the town is, the more tourist-friendly it is.