VOLUNTEERS said they were stunned when a Derby City Council worker told them to stop picking up litter.
Members of the Normanton Empowerment Team say they were in Clarence Road when they were ordered to down litter-pickers provided by the council as they had not been trained to use them.
Team member Dawn Gee said: "We have been collecting litter for a number of years and were issued with a small amount of litter-pickers to support us doing this.
"Why are we now being told we cannot use them without training, why now?
"We were told it is because the litter-pickers were issued by the council.
"Wheelie bins are also issued by the council. Does this mean that all the residents in Derby should undergo moving and handling training to avoid personal injury?
"We have worked very hard trying to empower people into taking responsibility to pick up litter in front of their own properties. This action can have the opposing effect."
Fellow team member Karen Williams said: "I feel that the council is doing everything it can to deter us from carrying on as a group but it is not going to stop us."
Simon Bacon, another volunteer, said he was "stunned".
He said: "As a community group, we act responsibly at all times around waste on the street because of the known risks. So, to learn after carrying out regular litter picks safely for so many months that training was now required came as a shock.
"I am fearful that such an approach will put off concerned members of the public looking to take pride in their community by looking to collect litter from the street if the council puts in place such requirements. We should be looking to empower people to care for their community, not place hurdles in their way."
And fellow volunteer Ashley Waterhouse said: "It has come as a great blow and a shame to hear that the council is stopping dedicated volunteers within the community taking pride within their area, spending hours of their time litter-picking."
Paul Robinson, the council's strategic director for neighbourhoods, said the authority wanted to encourage people to pick up litter in their streets. However, if people asked to use council equipment, the authority was legally obliged to provide them with training.
Mr Robinson said: "We absolutely want to encourage people to pick up litter and to take pride in their locality.
"Under the Health and Safety Act, we have a duty of care on people undertaking work on our behalf. Where we are asked by people to work on our behalf, we have to satisfy ourselves that they understand the risks and what they are going to be doing.
"With litter, there could be needles in what they pick up or large items could be heavy. If anything were to go wrong, we could potentially be sued as we've sanctioned that work."
In the year to March, there were 6,651 incidents of fly-tipping in Derby – including 5,173 in the Normanton and Arboretum wards – but no convictions.
An online petition, from the empowerment team, Derby Telegraph and Derby City Council has been set up in a bid to persuade the Government to change the law on dumping rubbish.
Its aim is to make it easier for the council to prosecute for fly-tipping.
People can sign it at epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ petitions/68218.
