Community crackdown on sunflower seed litterbugs

Members of the Romanian community are calling on people to stop creating litter with sunflower seed husks.

The Ipswich Romanian Community group held a clean-up of Maple Park, with volunteers working alongside councillors and the police.

Sunflower seeds are popular in many cultures, including with people from eastern European countries.

The group's founder Romeo Mustata said: "[Eating sunflower seeds] is cultural... but in modern towns and cities, we all need to keep our environment clean."

Concentrations of discarded husks on pavements and by park benches have become a source of tension in Ipswich.

Dropping cigarette ends and organic waste such as seed husks is considered littering, and fixed penalty notices of £500 can be issued to offenders.

Failure to pay fixed penalty notices can result in prosecution, with courts able to issue fines of up to £2,500.

Mr Mustata said the litter-pick at Maple Park could be replicated elsewhere, and he encouraged volunteers to help clean other towns.

The group has also discussed more radical ways to encourage people to change their habits.

"Ad hoc photos or videos of people who are throwing this kind of litter on the ground could be shared anonymously on our group WhatsApp or social media," he said.

"Perhaps this would be an extra point to make people aware. Everything we are doing is for all of us, and for our future."

Philip Smart, the council's portfolio holder for environment and transport, said it was important people appreciated that "even seemingly natural substances like seed husks and fruit peelings are litter and cause environmental issues".

He added: "By not dropping these, people will be discouraging pests, making for a more pleasant environment and cutting down the cost of managing litter.

"It's always helpful for the local community to get on board with this in the form of organised litter-picks and helping to educate people in their community about the negative side of littering, encouraging them to bin their waste."

The council is running a This is Our Town campaign in a bid to raise public awareness of littering.

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