The 15-month drive kicked off this week, with town centre visitors dropping litter in the centre of the town warned by a talking bin.
Head of communications Carol Lamb said: ‘The campaign will make people aware we could spend the money on more productive things.
‘The £1.7m we spend cleaning up the borough equates to what it would cost to add a primary school teacher to every school in the borough or to care for 250 elderly people in their own homes rather than in a care home,’ she added.
The campaign effort will also publish information leaflets and carry a media relations element. There will also be opportunities for local residents to have their own clear-up days on special projects.
Lamb said: ‘Our problems include cigarettes dropped onto the street, chewing gum, fly-tipping and graffiti, but with this campaign we are hoping to be Britain’s cleanest borough.’
