A NEW campaign entitled Cheer Up Chard will be looking to put the smile back on the face of the town.

But one of the ways to make the town look more positive is by tackling one of the town’s negatives – litter.

David Laughton, a member of the Chard Town Team, said: “The Cheer Up Chard campaign will be looking to emphasise the positives of the town. But one of our negatives at the moment is our litter problem.”

Mr Laughton told members of Chard Town Council’s Guildhall and amenities committee last week that he supported a motion put forward by Cllr Jason Baker that existing litter bins in the town centre are replaced by recycling bins with separate sections of paper, cans, general waste and cigarette butts.

“This campaign isn’t going to be a flash in the pan, but something to build on,” added Mr Laughton. “I fully support Cllr Baker’s initiative.”

Tim Eggins, of the Sustainable Chard group, said: “This is the logical way to go – lots of places are doing this in the UK.”

Cllr Baker said: “We recycle at home, so as a council we need to be doing the same. We need to encourage recycling and working towards a more sustainable and recyclable future.”

Cllr Cathie Morrison said: “I think everyone should be recycling. I get very frustrated when I see people drop litter.”

The council’s operations manager, Ed Ringwood, told councillors that he would investigate costings of recycling bins.

“I’m a keen recycler, but we are not a collecting authority,” he said. “I will speak with the Somerset Waste Partnership to find out more information.

“This won’t happen overnight.”