Grime busters

Volunteers have become the 'eyes and ears' of their communities to keep litter, graffiti and fly-tipping under control

Dee Williamson (pictured above) is proud of her neighbourhood and wants to keep it looking its best.
She is also community spirited and gives up some of her spare time to help clear up the mess other people leave behind.
That's why Dee is working in partnership with Hull City Council by volunteering as a community surveyor.
Once a month, she checks the area where she lives, clipboard in hand, to look for litter, graffiti, fly-tipping, and fallen leaves, twigs and general dirt building up on pavements and kerbs.
She posts her findings back to the council (in freepost envelopes which are provided) to inform the Streetcare teams which then come out and clear up the rubbish.

Satisfying work

"I was one of Hull's first community surveyors and I've been in the role for about a year," she says.
"As I'm now retired, it's a great way of using my spare time and doing something positive for the community.
"I really dislike seeing litter and rubbish on the streets, it brings the area down, and this is a good way of keeping the problem under control.
"I also find it satisfying when council officers come along and clear up a mess once I've alerted them to the problem."
Dee normally spends about an hour-and-a-half observing her area.
She surveys parts of Sculcoates Lane, Folkestone Street, Adderbury Grove, Newland Grove, Epworth Street, Farringdon Street, Fenchurch Street, and sections of a small park in the area.

More about the scheme

The council set up the voluntary scheme after working with EnCams - an environmental lobby group which runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
This enabled a training course to be set up to prepare volunteers for the work. So, as well as checking for litter on the streets, the training allows volunteers to give grades for local environmental quality.
For example, volunteers would award a grade A if there is no litter present to a grade D if there is heavy coverage.
And by keeping score, volunteers help the council to keep a check on what's happening on the ground from month to month to ensure standards of cleanliness are being maintained.
If an area is found to be in need of extra attention, the council can then target its waste management resources to ensure it gets a clean sweep.
The scheme also encourages residents to act as champions for their environment by, for example, making suggestions about where new litter bins or 'bottle bank' recycling facilities can be placed.
And the surveyors can also report problems with the physical condition of roads, pavements, footpaths and streetlights for the council to respond and make the repairs.

Important role

"Hull's community surveyors carry out a very important role in the local community," says Stuart Davy, head of area and neighbourhood management.
"They are helping to make Hull a cleaner, safer and greener city by monitoring and improving the environment, and we value their efforts very highly.
"We need more local people to become community surveyors, so I urge people to step forward and give it a go.
"As more volunteers work in partnership with us, the more we will keep our city looking its best."

info

For more information on community surveyors, please call 300300, and for more on EnCams, visit www.encams.org