County streets are still cleaner than all Wales average

STREETS in Carmarthenshire continue to be cleaner than the all Wales average, according to a new report.

The survey, carried out by Keep Wales Tidy in July, gave Carmarthenshire an overall score of 68.5 (out of 100) for cleanliness* – that’s above the all Wales figure of 67.9.

Furthermore, 94% of streets in Carmarthenshire were graded B or above (no more than three small items of litter).

No D grade streets were found during the course of survey (heavily affected by litter and/or refuse with significant accumulations).

The Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) report found that pedestrian/individual litter continues to be the biggest litter problem in the county, present on 92.8% of streets surveyed.

Smoking-related litter continues to be the most common litter type, found on 85.5% of county streets.

Confectionary litter and drinks related litter were present on 57.8% and 50.6% of streets respectively, and fast food litter was identified on 22.9% of streets.

Dog fouling was found on 4.8% of streets – a significant reduction on 2011/12 where it was found on 12.7% of streets in Carmarthenshire.

A second survey will be carried out by Keep Wales Tidy later in the year, followed by a final report.

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “I am delighted by the results of this first survey carried out by Keep Wales Tidy which shows a large reduction in dog fouling on our streets compared to last year.

“Tackling dog fouling and litter is a major priority for the new council administration following the elections in May and it appears that the work being carried out by the cleansing staff, our enforcement officers as well as all the education and awareness activity is already making a difference.

“I hope we continue to see an improvement throughout the year; we all have a part to play in keeping our county clean and those that don’t will be prosecuted.”

The council’s Street Scene division has a cleansing staff of 60, along with a number of mechanical sweeping machines and on average 40 tonnes of litter is removed every week at a cost of over £2.2 million per year.

Executive Board Member for Street Scene Cllr Colin Evans said: “Our staff do a fantastic job all year round; they work 365 days of the year – even on Christmas Day – and are out in all types of weather conditions.

“Our aim is to provide a flexible and responsive cleansing service; targeting the areas where it is needed the most and maintaining high cleanliness standards throughout Carmarthenshire.”

*The cleanliness index denotes the overall standard of cleanliness of adopted highways and relevant land within a local authority. The scale is from 0 to 100 and higher scores indicate better cleanliness.