Litter team take pride in tidy-up
IMAGES have revealed the extent to which our volunteer litter pickers are keeping a busy grot spot neat and tidy.
Civic Pride Rossendale (CPR) Lone Rangers are removing more than 1,000 items of litter per week between the gyratory in Rawtenstall, and the entry/exit roads of the A56.
Those items include empty vodka bottles, in addition to takeaway wrappers, bottles and cans, snack packets and cigarette ends.
In 2010 CPR cleared the spur road for the first time, with hundreds of bags filled, in addition to clearance of larger debris.
Since then, on average, their volunteers collect about six bags of rubbish every three weeks from the area.
A bag from this area typically contains between 500 and 600 individual pieces of litter.
Roger Grimshaw, chair of CPR, said three or four times a year the council mow verges and central reservations, immediately before which a team of litter pickers will perform a final pick to avoid litter ‘becoming confetti’.
He added: “As you drive from Rawtenstall to Manchester and admire the mown, litter-free verges and central reservation prepare yourself for what comes next.
“The A56 is maintained by the Highways Agency who recently cut back the undergrowth, but failed to litter pick it first.
“RBC have been made aware and they are pushing hard for some action.
“But, in the meantime, be thankful that the days are short and so it’s only visible for a few hours each day!”