Tyres, toys, bags, worn out shoes, bottles and plastic were part of the rubbish Nausori Town Council cleared from blocked drains last week.

This has prompted the council to appoint citizens as Litter Prevention Officers.

Nausori special administrator Uma Kant Patel said people continued to dump rubbish in drains and then blamed the council when drains got flooded.

“People just don’t have civic pride. The council spends a significant portion of its income collecting waste,” Mr Patel said.

“We have done a lot of campaigns about waste management, yet people continue to litter.

“We plead to the public to dispose of rubbish responsibly and add value in keeping our town clean.

“We also would like to invite people who would want to act as litter prevention officers in their areas.”

Mr Patel said proper training would be provided to those who were interested. He said proper identification would be provided after completion of training.

“They can issue spot fines to anyone littering. The fines will be paid to the council. We are working on what percentage is to be paid to these officers at the end of each month based on actual revenue collected as fine,” he said.

In addition to this, the council would place more rubbish bins in the town.

Mr Patel hopes this would help solve some of the litter issues faced by the Nausori Town Council.

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