Residents have reported seeing an increase in littering over the past year, especially in parks and green spaces.
Councillors and organisations, including The Parks Trust, have spoken about the increase in rubbish being left in local areas following the easing of the first lockdown.
At the start of June 2020, The Parks Trust collected over 800 bags of litter from Milton Keynes' parks in just one week alone.
This even led to children creating 'do not litter' signs and pinning them up in popular walking areas, including Bury Fields in Newport Pagnell.
It seems the problems have continued, with many communities regularly organising litter picks.
The Leader of Milton Keynes Council, Cllr Pete Marland, says the community is "brilliant" for coming together to clear litter.
He also believes that there has been an increase in littering across the city, something which was discussed during an MKFM News Special broadcast on Wednesday (24/2).
Cllr Marland said: "We're doing some work at the moment just to quantify if there is more litter or whether more people are around a bit more and are noticing it more.
"But my view is there is probably a bit more litter and that is because people are walking a lot more, they're in their own neighbourhood more. To me, it's one of those things about personal responsibility that sometimes I find shocking."
Cllr Marland added how he thinks people can be quick to ask the council to clean it up when "the council didn't put it there".
He continued: "Each of us should respect our local communities."
Milton Keynes Council has allocated funding in its recent budget for extra litter picks in areas that tend to have more litter, including around shops.
During the MKFM interview, Cllr Marland was asked about 'litter police' and his views on the possibility of more fines for littering.
He said there is often a "strange conflict" between those who think more fines should be introduced but will then say it is unfair if/when they are fined themselves.
Cllr Marland added: "I have wondered whether we should introduce more on-the-spot fines. It is certainly something that if people think is a good idea then we would consider [it]."
Do you think Milton Keynes Council should introduce more fines for littering? Email news@mkfm.com with your views.
