AN IT consultant from Newport has taken the war on litter into the 21st century – by mapping every bin and litter hot-spot in the city and posting the data online.
Steve Preddy began the arduous task of finding and logging each site in the summer of last year.
Doing most of the work himself, and on foot, Mr Preddy has recently announced the completion of the project and posted the finished maps onto his website.
(Steve Preddy)
"I wasn't looking for dropped crisp packets, but piles of litter that were where they shouldn't have been," said Mr Preddy.
"These cases could have been fly-tipping or even accidental but they were all logged.
"I ignored how the litter got there, I just wanted to log all the sites. It was quite a systematic approach."
Mr Preddy covered hundreds of miles and logged thousands of litter sites, as well as the city's bins, during his project.
(Newport's litter hotspots have been mapped by Mr Preddy)
"There are industrial areas where I have not yet been but they're next on the list," he said.
"It's looking pretty comprehensive."
Where he has encountered instances of fly-tipping, Mr Preddy said that he has reported it to Newport City Council.
"They've got about 200 of these reports from me now," he said.
"A lot of the sites have since been cleared but some are ongoing problems."
(Newport's bins have been mapped by Mr Preddy)
Based on the data he has collected, Mr Preddy hopes to come up with a list of 'priority action zones' to tackle the litter problems in the areas worst affected.
"This could be through CCTV or simply by having more bins in those areas," he said.
To have a look at the level of litter near you, or for more information, visit newportlitter.wordpress.com
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