Rewards are to be offered by Westmeath County Council to members of the public who report litter louts and are prepared to give evidence against them in court.
The initiative is in an attempt to stamp out litter pollution and increase the number of prosecutions against litter louts in the county.
Ms Patricia Gibney, administrative officer in the council's environment section, said the council was getting a lot of complaints about litter pollution but many of the complainants did not want to go to court which made it difficult to secure convictions against offenders. "It's very hard when you have no witnesses," she said.
"So we have launched an environment awareness award in the hope that people would be prepared to go to court and give evidence that would lead to a conviction," she added.
The council will present Guardian of the Environment Awards to anyone providing evidence to the local authority which leads to a conviction under the Litter Pollution Act 1997.
Recipients will have a choice of reward - a home compost unit, refuse tags or a voucher to visit Belvedere House, Gardens and Park just outside Mullingar. Each reward is valued at £25.
Ms Gibney is in the process of reviewing the council's three-year litter management plan, drawn up in 1998.
The review shows there were 262 complaints made to the council in relation to litter pollution and illegal dumping last year. They resulted in 15 offenders being brought before the court and in six convictions.
In 1999 the council achieved 10 convictions and one defendant incurred the maximum fine of £1,500 plus costs.
To date this year there have been 206 complaints made and the council hopes the numbers of convictions can be increased.
Like other local authorities, the council has also decided to name and shame those convicted of litter pollution by publishing their names.
In addition, the council has issued 792 on-the-spot fines - each of £50 - for littering over the past three years. A further 202 were issued up to the end of September this year.
Ms Gibney said there were over 30 tidy towns groups in the county, she said, which were "a major help" but street litter was still a major problem in urban areas. Larger towns like Mullingar had to have their streets cleaned seven mornings a week, she said.
There were also regular complaints of littering in rural areas like dumping in bogs and other isolated areas.
Ms Gibney said the review of the council's 1998 litter management plan as well as a new litter management plan for the next three years will be placed in draft form before the November meeting of the council.
There will be a lot of emphasis on community involvement in achieving the aims of the new draft plan, Ms Gibney said.
If the plan is approved, it will go on public display in December.