Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Scrumbags!
Kelly Robinson
24 April 2008
http://manlydaily.com.au/article/2008/04/24/9824_news.html
SPORTING groups may be slapped with a ``tape tax'' to curb increasing amounts of sticky strapping left on fields after weekend matches.
Warringah Council is considering introducing a cleaning fee after residents' complaints about litter, which also included cans, bottles, ring pulls and chip packets.
Electrical tape, used to tie down laces on football boots and to hold up socks, was the worst offender.
North Manly resident Bernadette McCarthy raised the issue at a council meeting on Tuesday night.
``This has been happening for a while now around Nolan and Passmore reserves, and it's mostly the sports which wear boots and use electrical tape,'' she said. ``After the weekend there's all sorts of coloured electrical tape strewn around the place. It's not very nice. Sometimes there's also Elastoplast around and bottles and general litter.''
Warringah administrator Dick Persson said he understood the frustration of maintenance staff and residents.
``Sporting groups who use the grounds have a strong obligation to leave the ground as tidy as they found them,'' Mr Persson said.
``I saw Nolan Reserve for myself on Tuesday and I walked across the field. There was a lot of black and orange electrical tape lying around.
``Evidently a lot of people are in the habit of tearing it off and leaving it there. It's not biodegradable and it's not acceptable.''
Mr Persson said he believed a bond would be the most effective outcome. ``A bond or some sort of payment made in advance if extra cleaning is required would hopefully be a way to deal with the issue,'' he said. ``I don't believe taxpayers should bear the burden of sporting groups not cleaning up after themselves.''
However, Manly Warringah Football Association general manager Jeremy Toivonen said he did not believe a cleaning fee would solve the problem.
``This is just another way of getting extra money,'' Mr Toivonen said. ``I have never received a complaint from council and if I did there are ways for the association to place its own sanctions on players.
``I don't believe the council will be able to inspect the fields and determine who's leaving what rubbish. It won't solve the problem.''
Mr Persson conceded there may be monitoring issues. ``I accept there will be some administrative challenges to the idea,'' he said. ``However, the issue is something council needs to deal with.''
Manly Warringah Sporting Union president Eric Galloway said he understood the council's position, but he believed the tape was being left because of a lack of facilities at the grounds.
``I would have no objection to council taking action,'' he said. ``But I believe the tape may be left on the ground because of a lack of dressing sheds at Nolan Reserve. There is nowhere to change and people are getting dressed in the bushes.''
Mr Persson said there were enough bins and changing facilities at Nolan Reserve. ``All I can say is, nice try, Eric. Nolan Reserve does have dressing sheds. They're not in very good condition and there are plans to improve them.
``The tape I saw was in the middle of the field and there is no excuse for people to tear off tape and leave it on the field. A lot of people do the right thing and put their stuff in the bin, but there are people that don't.''
Kelly Robinson
24 April 2008
http://manlydaily.com.au/article/2008/04/24/9824_news.html
SPORTING groups may be slapped with a ``tape tax'' to curb increasing amounts of sticky strapping left on fields after weekend matches.
Warringah Council is considering introducing a cleaning fee after residents' complaints about litter, which also included cans, bottles, ring pulls and chip packets.
Electrical tape, used to tie down laces on football boots and to hold up socks, was the worst offender.
North Manly resident Bernadette McCarthy raised the issue at a council meeting on Tuesday night.
``This has been happening for a while now around Nolan and Passmore reserves, and it's mostly the sports which wear boots and use electrical tape,'' she said. ``After the weekend there's all sorts of coloured electrical tape strewn around the place. It's not very nice. Sometimes there's also Elastoplast around and bottles and general litter.''
Warringah administrator Dick Persson said he understood the frustration of maintenance staff and residents.
``Sporting groups who use the grounds have a strong obligation to leave the ground as tidy as they found them,'' Mr Persson said.
``I saw Nolan Reserve for myself on Tuesday and I walked across the field. There was a lot of black and orange electrical tape lying around.
``Evidently a lot of people are in the habit of tearing it off and leaving it there. It's not biodegradable and it's not acceptable.''
Mr Persson said he believed a bond would be the most effective outcome. ``A bond or some sort of payment made in advance if extra cleaning is required would hopefully be a way to deal with the issue,'' he said. ``I don't believe taxpayers should bear the burden of sporting groups not cleaning up after themselves.''
However, Manly Warringah Football Association general manager Jeremy Toivonen said he did not believe a cleaning fee would solve the problem.
``This is just another way of getting extra money,'' Mr Toivonen said. ``I have never received a complaint from council and if I did there are ways for the association to place its own sanctions on players.
``I don't believe the council will be able to inspect the fields and determine who's leaving what rubbish. It won't solve the problem.''
Mr Persson conceded there may be monitoring issues. ``I accept there will be some administrative challenges to the idea,'' he said. ``However, the issue is something council needs to deal with.''
Manly Warringah Sporting Union president Eric Galloway said he understood the council's position, but he believed the tape was being left because of a lack of facilities at the grounds.
``I would have no objection to council taking action,'' he said. ``But I believe the tape may be left on the ground because of a lack of dressing sheds at Nolan Reserve. There is nowhere to change and people are getting dressed in the bushes.''
Mr Persson said there were enough bins and changing facilities at Nolan Reserve. ``All I can say is, nice try, Eric. Nolan Reserve does have dressing sheds. They're not in very good condition and there are plans to improve them.
``The tape I saw was in the middle of the field and there is no excuse for people to tear off tape and leave it on the field. A lot of people do the right thing and put their stuff in the bin, but there are people that don't.''
