Littering fines on North Tyneside’s coastal beauty spots dropped by half during the pandemic.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that 108 littering fines were issued in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and Cullercoats in 2019, but in 2020 this number plummeted to 51.
A spokesman for North Tyneside Council said that the reduction in fines was a result of a drop in littering offences as people followed Government advice to stay home during the pandemic.
He said: “As people stayed at home for large parts of 2020, and many businesses faced prolonged periods of closure, there were naturally fewer people on the streets and littering offences went down.
“This was reflected in the lower number of fines handed out compared to 2019 and the fact that our officers were also under restrictions and therefore not out patrolling during lockdown.”
Tynemouth ward councillor Lewis Bartoli said that a lot of litter could be caused by animals, such as seagulls, scavenging in bins.
He said: “Where I take my dog there’s two bins. The bins get full every night – seagulls and foxes pull the rubbish out.
“Bins in Tynemouth get full of fish and chip cartons really quickly because of the new style boxes.
“There’s bins that can crush waste, or help separate waste and in Canada you have bins that stop bears getting in and we can’t stop seagulls!”
Coun Bartoli also said he was sceptical about enforcement, saying that it would be better to make sure people had access to bins.
He added: “The problem is it [enforcement] is costly. Most of the litter louts are out in unsociable places at unsociable times.
“You’re asking council officers to confront people who could be in drink.
“I’m not sure enforcement is effective. Having the right facilities for people would be a more positive approach.”
