Reading residents generally support a new team being given the power to crack down on littering and fly-tipping as they begin work this week.
The issues have long been present in the town, with littering present in the town centre and bottle banks becoming hotspots for fly-tipping.
To tackle these issues, Reading Borough Council has partnered with Kingdom Services Group to fine those caught in the act.
Those who are caught littering, improperly disposing of cigarettes and fly-tipping by the Kingdom team will be issued with a fixed penalty notice (FPN) fine.
Neighbours generally support the approach and consider littering to be a serious issue.
A woman from Reading, who gave her view while waiting for a bus in St Mary’s Butts, said: “It really is quite bad, isn’t it?
“I don’t think people should be doing any of those two things, it makes the place untidy.
“They should take the example of Asian countries, like Japan, for example.
“They have a nice, clean environment, don’t they?
When asked whether more enforcement and fines would help, the woman replied: “Probably, some people park in a place where they shouldn’t be parking, you would be fined.
“If it’s a great big fine, it’ll probably help.”
A man who lived near the town centre agreed, along with two separate bystanders from Earley.
Reacting to the news on Facebook, Vivienne Ballico said: “I’m forever picking litter around where I live.
“Having a secondary school nearby doesn’t help, as I’m forever picking up cans of Red Bull and sweet wrappers.”
Stephen Belgrave argued careless litter disposal can be tackled by instilling pride in the town.
He said: “Littering is a mindset! It would be better tackled with a community spirit and pride in where you live. I fear that boat has long since sailed, though.
“When I was young, I was taught not to drop litter, and it has stayed with me!
“I then taught my children not to drop litter, and they don’t generally drop litter.
“The number of times I see people driving along and just throwing their fast food rubbish out of a moving car is shocking. It’s cheaper to tackle the mindset than to tackle the litter.”
Mandy Price added: “A few more bins would help.”
Those caught could face a maximum fine of £500 for littering and graffiti is £500 (up from £80), £1,000 for fly-tipping (up from £400), and £600 for the incorrect disposal of household waste (from £400).
The enforcement arrangement with Kingdom went live yesterday on Monday, September 15.
The team will be made up of five members, who have already been told about problem areas by the council’s existing enforcement team.
However, the council has argued its employees are stretched, as they also have to take care of recycling, household and commercial waste management and environmental offences.
The Kingdom team have bodycams used when handing out fines.
