A new waste clearance team will remove rubbish from the yards and gardens of people who fail to comply with notices to do so.
Durham County Council’s neighbourhood wardens previously relied on the authority’s clean and green teams to follow them into particular areas to clear away bags of waste following complaints by residents.
Now the specialist team, which is part of the wider wardens network, will carry out the work.
The cost of the clearances will be recovered from the fines handed out to those responsible for not clearing their rubbish.
The creation of the team comes in response to feedback from members of the public in County Durham who rate clearance of untidy yards and rubbish among their top priorities.
Where residents fail to comply with statutory notices and actions taken by neighbourhood wardens, the team will clear away the rubbish.
The council is keen to highlight how seriously it takes complaints from members of the public.
Residents who do not remove their waste responsibly risk being prosecuted and fined.
Cllr Mark Wilkes, the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “The creation of this new waste clearance team comes following feedback from our residents.
“We know how important it is to them that unsightly rubbish and waste is cleared from the gardens and yards of properties.
“Now, we have a dedicated team of staff to deal with this county wide.
“The vast majority of County Durham residents take care of their own rubbish responsibly and we thank them for this.
“We will be making sure that all costs from clearance of yards and gardens including fines are recovered from those responsible.
“We are taking the action needed to keep our neighbourhoods clean.”
Further details on household waste recycling centres in County Durham can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/hwrc.
Those who have large items of waste they wish to dispose of can request a bulky waste collection by going to www.durham.gov.uk/bulkywaste.
For more details on the work of the council’s neighbourhood wardens go to www.durham.gov.uk/neighbourhoodwardens.
