New campaign to crackdown on litter louts

We’re cracking down on litter louts – again! 

Local authorities and businesses across Essex are joining the fight to crack down on people who throw litter out of their vehicle! This year’s Love Essex campaign will highlight the recently increased fines that people throwing litter from their car face from Fixed Penalty Notices of up to £150 to fines of up to £2,500, plus costs upon conviction in a court!

Banners will be displayed at fifteen KFC and three McDonald’s drive through restaurants and take-away packaging will also be branded with “Can you afford to throw £150 away?”

A video has been produced to help spread the message on social media too – you can view it here.

This year, the anticipated cost of keeping the Braintree District clean and tidy will be around £1.58 million and picking up other people’s litter is an expensive part of that. It is literally throwing money away which should be spent on more important things.

If you see someone throwing litter from their vehicle in our district, take the registration plate number and report them to us so we can follow it up! You can…

• Report to us online at www.braintree.gov/uk/carlitter

Call 01376 552525

►Find out more about the campaign

New Chat a While bench launched to combat loneliness

We’ve launched a new Chat a While Bench to encourage residents to chat and socialise to each other in an effort to combat loneliness.

It’s located outside Nat West bank and Mack’s Barbers along Braintree High Street & a way for people to feel like they have a safe space to talk to others in the community and not feel so alone.

It comes after Age UK research revealed that wards within Braintree were at the highest risk of loneliness.

And if it’s successful, it will be extended to other areas across the district such as Witham and Halstead!

Do you have unwanted items that are too good to throw away?

Then why not try the Braintree Freegle group, an online platform that helps you give and get items for free in your local community.

It’s a great way to save items from being thrown away. You can pass almost anything on using Freegle!

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