Edinburgh takeaway says litter warning is just rubbish

Published on Thursday 17 April 2008 10:51

A SANDWICH shop owner has been told to clean up litter dropped by his customers – despite the fact that all the nearby bins have been removed for the tram works.

Furious David Liddle, the manager of Baguette Express on Shandwick Place, says he has been threatened with enforcement action by the city council.

He told the Evening News he was approached by litter wardens and told to clean up branded wrappers and coffee cups from within 100 metres of his shop.

As part of the five months of tram work on the street, the public litter bins have been replaced with orange plastic buckets. Street cleaning patrols have also been altered.

Mr Liddle said: "I had people from environmental health round here recently telling me that we would be held responsible for every piece of litter dropped within 100 metres of my store.

"I explained to them that the tram workers had taken away all the bins, and that we don't get the same rubbish collection services that we used to.

"They pointed to the orange buckets that have been placed along the street and said the rubbish could be put in there.

"I wouldn't have even known that these were bins, and I don't expect many of my customers will have known either."

The city council can hand out street litter control notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These require a business to keep the surrounding area, up to a maximum radius of 100 metres, free of related litter.

Mr Liddle added: "It's a complete joke. We've had to put up with no end of bother since these tram works came in.

"Our takings are down, we can barely hear the customers because of the racket outside, and at one point the counter was vibrating because of the heavy machinery going backwards and forwards.

"Now we're being told that we have to keep the street tidy of other people's rubbish even though there are no bins."

The council said its enforcers did not serve a litter control notice on Baguette Express, and it had so far been unable to locate the team that spoke to Mr Liddle.

However, the spokeswoman added that environment teams would be visiting Baguette Express in the next few days to discuss any outstanding concerns, and assure Mr Liddle they would be on hand to help him deal with the litter problem.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, environment leader, said: "While the tram works are under way in the city, we are keen to work with businesses affected to mitigate any issues with litter and waste disposal.

"We have altered our street cleansing regime and environmental warden patrols to accommodate the ongoing works and deal with littering in the area.

"In addition, the Edinburgh tram project currently has two logistic teams in Shandwick Place and Constitution Street to support businesses with the movement of goods and waste to and from premises."

A spokesman for tram company TIE said litter enforcement on Shandwick Place was a matter for the council.