Head-turning posters that label litter louts “tossers” could start appearing in Perth after a surge in complaints about dropped rubbish at local beauty spots.
Signs that tell residents “Don’t be a Tosser” have proved effective for local authorities south of the border, while images of notices in York city centre recently went viral on social media.
Perth councillor Peter Barrett, leader of the local Liberal Democrat group, has now asked officers to consider a comparable poster campaign for the Fair City area, where litterbugs cost taxpayers about £2 million a year.
It follows complaints about alarming amounts of litter – including burned-out barbecue trays and empty beer bottles – left behind by sun-seekers at the city’s North Inch.
Mr Barrett believes the bold phrasing would help drive the message home.
The signs were inspired by a similar clean-up campaign in New Zealand, he said.
“Residents drew my attention to signs used by City of York Council which were successfully deployed to protect the amenity of their own greenspaces.
“There is a definite streak of antipodean directness and humour to the signs.
“They are blunt but they get to the heart of the selfishness of people who toss their rubbish away. I think they would work really well here.”
The York signs ask the multiple-choice question: “Why are you tossing litter around here?” The tick-box answers are: “I’m lazy”, “I don’t care about the community” and thirdly “I think other people should pay to clean up after me.”
Mr Barrett said: “The key message of the signs is ‘Don’t be a tosser. You brought your rubbish here please take it home with you.’
“I think it captures the community’s frustration and anger at litter louts and exposes the thoughtlessness of such behaviour. I’ve written to the council’s greenspaces team and I think we should give them a go.”
Perth and Kinross Council has not committed itself to such direct and to-the-point signage but a spokesman did confirm new measures were being looked at to stem a rising tide in rubbish at local parks.
“Littering is antisocial behaviour and costs the council around £2 million a year to clean up,” the spokesman said.
“It is always disappointing when people fail to dispose of their waste properly and we would urge people to bin their rubbish, or to take it home with them if no bin is available.
“We will continue to look at ways to drive this message home and are always happy consider new ideas from the public about how we can address this issue.”
