Litter blighting beauty spots

Chewing gum, cigarette ends and fast-food packaging are spoiling prime visitor sites in Ilkley, Haworth and Saltaire.

And day-trippers are the worst culprits, according to Bradford Council's district manager for cleansing Ray Garland.

He outlined the litter burden facing some of the most famous landmarks in the Bradford district on the back of the launch of the Telegraph & Argus Bin It For Bradford campaign.

The campaign, announced yesterday with backing from Bradford Council and Bradford Chamber of Commerce, is aimed at tackling the litter problems which blight Bradford.

We want our readers to take more pride in the district and help clean up our streets.

We are giving people the chance to organise their own community clean-ups and tell us about areas where litter is an eyesore.

"The large influx of visitors to these outdoor attractions has a knock-on effect on the amount of litter produced," said Mr Garland.

"People do not take their litter home with them."

He said tourist areas including Ilkley's Riverside Gardens and Main Street in Haworth were known hot-spots for litter, especially during the summer.

"We always need to increase resources during the summer months to cope with the increase in litter," he said.

But despite efforts to persuade around a million visitors to the area each year to bin their litter, the message it still not getting through.

Ilkley Parish Council chairman Kate Brown said: "Litter is a big issue in Ilkley, especially from people who buy sandwiches and fast food and do not take the packaging home with them.

"It really is not nice for the people who live here who want to keep the town looking attractive."

She said the Council worked hard to keep the area clean by emptying bins on a regular basis but added: "The problem is with people who don't bother to throw their rubbish in the bins and leave it lying around.

"It always surprises me when you see empty drinks cans on the moors. People are willing to carry a heavy can but when it's empty they can't be bothered to take it away with them."

Serious walkers, she said, were much more environmentally aware than day-trippers.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's Executive Member for Environment, said it was vital that visitors used bins or took their rubbish away with them if the attractiveness of places like Ilkley was to be preserved.

Mike Hutchinson, of Haworth in Bloom, said litter was also a concern in the popular Bronte town.

"People do not realise when they drop chewing gum and cigarette ends how difficult it is to pick it up when it goes between the cobbles. People are trying their best to make the town look attractive but rubbish really spoils it."

The war memorial at the bottom of Station Road has proved to be a huge problem area because people congregate to eat fast food and simply drop the packaging.

"We would like to put signs up saying 'don't drop litter' but that would really spoil the natural beauty of the area," said Mr Hutchinson. "People need to get the message and not drop litter."