Mayor Joe Anderson has held a summit to discuss ways in which to make Liverpool cleaner and greener.
Around 80 delegates from 60 different organisations gathered at the town hall for the mayoral summit on Wednesday.
Among those involved were representatives from businesses, housing associations, schools, community groups, football clubs and churches.
Participants agreed to a zero tolerance policy towards littering, fly tipping and dog fouling and all were asked to sign pledges which will commit them to playing their part in keeping Liverpool clean and litter free.
Businesses, social landlords, land managers and the council will be asked to give specific commitments to deliver this aim. Issues such as finding more effective ways of dealing with litter and dog fouling will also be addressed, the meeting heard.
Anderson said: “The city council and its contractors have a very important role and, despite the huge budgetary pressures on us, we are striving to improve our performance. Every year we clear 14,000 tons of litter off the city’s streets at a cost to the taxpayer of £6.5milllion.”
The campaign is joined by Amey, which operate the council’s streetscene services, and who funded the summit. Its business director, Mike Cafferky, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the summit to discuss ways in which we can all contribute towards the cleanliness of the city and reduce littering.
“Our teams play a vital role clearing the city’s streets, but need the support of local organisations and individuals to ensure we can deliver the services as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
Mayor Joe Anderson has said he hopes the campaign will bring pride back into the city and later on Twitter he announced 26 new apprenticeships, funded jointly by Amey and the council, which will be available as part of the new scheme.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “Today’s about launching an initiative which for me is very important. It means people take responsibility for what goes on in their community.”
“We’re turning ‘Grot Spots’ into places of pride. We’ve already reclaimed over 47 acres of waste land and gave them use again.”
The mayor also said that the summit had been oversubscribed, indicating how much interest there is in the issue. He added: It clearly demonstrates how much people want Liverpool to be proud of their city as it is clean and green and not tainted by the anti-social minority who drop litter, fly-tip or let their dogs foul our streets.
“The money we have to spend on cleaning up after them and we spend £6.5m a year, could be far better spent on providing other services. So, we are going to have a blitz on those people who drop litter or don’t clean up after their dogs. “
Keep Britain Tidy, a charity focused on improving the appearance of the country backed the campaign, saying on Twitter: “We are delighted to be working with @Lplcommdistrict, @TownHallLpool @joeforliverpool and @itsliverpool today to help achieve a cleaner city.”
Additional reporting by Lisa Kerr