A DECADE ago, when I first came across the 1990 Environmental Protection Act and noted the £2,500 penalty for the “criminal offence” of littering, I was appalled that so little was being done by our councils to deal with the litter issue.

It is then hugely encouraging now to see strong initiatives being taken by Bournemouth council (“£1 million clean-up drive”, Daily Echo, June 11).

I can only say well done and thank you Bournemouth councillors David Smith and Michael Filer for taking a lead to launch strong policies against what they rightly describe as a “plague on our society”. It is surely a mark of our values, and our state of “civilisation”, how we deal with these issue – awash with litter no one cares, or litter dealt with in communities we do care.

I only hope now more initiatives will follow – for instance every cash machine ATM with a litter receptacle. Also government to bring in litter deposits on all take-away food packaging and containers, either that or a litter tax. As Cllr Filer suggests, why should we all end up paying for the gross don’t care attitudes of the environmentally illiterate?

Or perhaps someone could come up with consumable edible fast food packaging and cigarette ends – on the hog principle, animals which will eat near anything (with all due respect to the intelligence of pigs)?

JEFF WILLIAMS, Jubilee Road, Parkstone