Last weekend Cork Corporation started a new anti-litter drive. This is nothing new. There have been several and since the late 1970s I think I have covered them all.
Have they worked? Of course not. Take a stroll around Cork and see for yourself.
This topic is beginning to bore. You would need a dumper to throw in all the cliches. A naturally beautiful city, it could be so lovely if only its citizens didn't despoil it. But one of the great pastimes in Cork is to discard as much rubbish as possible on the streets.
Is this a get-tough campaign or will it fizzle out like all the others? We shall see. Fines of up to £125 with community service for second-time offenders are now being proposed.
I will report the first real effects of this campaign with great relish.
Something else is happening on the same front. "Irish Business Against Litter" is the brainchild of Dr Tom Cavanagh, athlete and businessman.
He and fellow businessmen have been trying to persuade the Government to make littering a really punishable offence. To no avail. He has copies of various promises politicians made at election time. That's the easy bit. Doing something about it when in power is another thing.
Dr Cavanagh and his group are about to fund a major poster campaign, first in Cork and then in Dublin. We will see it on the hoardings (not the hustings) soon enough. In both cities. First in Cork, the message will be the same: "Welcome to Cork - Excuse the Litter". That should grab some attention.