Posters translated as part of council’s ‘No Rubbish Excuses’ campaign

Posters designed to educate and warn people about environmental crimes have been translated into five different languages as part of Cheshire East Council’s ‘No Rubbish Excuses’ campaign.

The campaign, which was launched in April, is part of the council’s efforts to tackle fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling, with activities primarily targeted at six fly-tipping ‘hotspot’ zones in Crewe.

Hard-hitting signs and stickers have been visible in those areas for several weeks now, including on alley gates, dog waste bins and litter bins, as well as around parks and the town centre. Bus and billboard advertising has also begun and will last for several weeks.

To ensure the campaign’s important messages about waste disposal reach as many residents as possible, the council has now had many of the campaign materials translated into Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Slovakian, Romanian and Polish. 

The languages were selected based on resident information collected during digital surveys in Crewe, which were carried out in the fly-tipping hotspot zones at the beginning of the year.

All of the posters are available to download from the council’s website and are also being distributed to various places across Crewe. In addition, targeted social media posts, professionally translated into the five languages, will be sent out over the coming weeks on Twitter and Facebook.

Both the campaign materials and social media messages have been produced with involvement from local residents and community groups.

Councillor Paul Bates, cabinet member for finance and communities at Cheshire East Council, said: “It’s important that all our residents have access to the correct information about responsible waste disposal and are aware that fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling are all environmental crimes and carry penalties.

“It is also important that all residents know how they can report incidents and information to us, so that we can work towards successful prosecutions.

“By making the decision to have these materials translated, we hope to be able to educate and engage with even more members of the community to help keep Crewe and the rest of the borough clean and litter free.”

The posters are available to download from the council’s website by visiting: cheshireeast.gov.uk/norubbishexcuses and clicking on the ‘There are no rubbish excuses’ tab.