Bristol City Council has appointed an ‘ethical’ company to tackle environmental crime across the whole of the city.
3GS, which promises ‘ethical environmental enforcement’, was one of three companies that bid for the contract and will replace Kingdom.
3GS officers will cover the whole of Bristol, tackling issues such as fly tipping, fly posting, commercial waste, abandoned vehicles and graffiti tagging.
They will also issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to people who commit offences such as dropping litter or failing to clear up dog mess. This will cover the cost of the service.
‘Making the city a cleaner, more pleasant place to live and work remains one of my main priorities,’ said mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees.
‘Over recent weeks many people have contacted me about unacceptable levels of fly tipping and littering in their areas, so it really need tackling.
‘Keeping our city clean is the responsibility of everyone; we can all take small actions which go a long way, like reporting fly tippers and ensuring we always pick up our dog mess.’
Martin Jerrold, group managing director of 3GS, said: ‘3GS will be deploying 10 experienced and professional enforcement officers throughout the city and outer city regions for a two year contract to issue Fixed Penalty Notices and deliver a range of educational initiatives to make the community aware of the consequences of littering and dog fouling and contribute to creating a greener environment for the area.
‘We are grateful for Bristol City Council for entrusting 3GS with a high-profile frontline service such as this.’
Kingdom, who 3GS will take over from, has been accused of training its staff to hide in bushes to catch people dropping litter.
They were also forced to deny that they were paying bonuses to staff for handing out fines.