» Tackling litter menace one street at a time
OUR Keep Gloucestershire Glorious campaign entered its second weekend of litter picking at some of the counties’ grot spots.
Volunteers and staff from the Echo, Gloucester Citizen and Gloucestershire Live made some interesting finds by the roadside - topped by an abundance of plastic, crisp packets and empty alcohol bottles.
Litter pickers braved a Met Office yellow weather warning for wind to tackle Gardners Lane in St Paul’s, Cheltenham.
They filled bags with discarded rubbish in under two hours along the short stretch off Swindon Road towards Cheltenham Animal Shelter.
One of the youngest volunteers on the day was 11-year-old Isabelle Anderson, who wanted to highlight the benefits of recycling and properly disposing of litter.
She said: “There’s too much plastic, there’s too much litter and I’m hoping to pick it all up.
“Keep recycling otherwise the environment has too much plastic.
“I’d like to see them put it in bins and
pockets and zipped up and not dropping them on the floor.”
Hidden away in the bushes, litter pickers discovered some amazing things.
A large quantity of what appears to be costume jewellery was discovered in a resealable bag containing necklaces, pins, hairclips and rings.
The bag has been reported to Gloucestershire police.
A large blue children’s play car was also discovered at the bottom of a ditch.
It was collected by the team of volunteers and taken to a nearby skip for proper disposal.
Among the volunteers who turned up to help was local resident Brenda Johnston, who said she enjoyed her day helping the community.
She said: “I hate litter. I’ve always fancied litter picking, I’ve never tried it before and I live 10 minutes’ walk away.”
The 69 year old encouraged others to take part in litter picking events.
She added: “I’m not a manager, I’m a doer. I’m happy to get stuck in, hence why I got a little bit left behind because I had no idea everyone else had disappeared. I was just so busy picking stuff up.
“I think it’s great - the more litter pickers there are the more awareness there will be for people to not drop so much.”
Among those clearing the streets was Gloucestershire Live digital content editor Sophie Flowers.
She said: “It was great to see members of the community come out to support our Keep Gloucestershire Glorious litter pick in Cheltenham.
“Despite the terrible weather we managed to collect a lot of litter, it’s just a shame there was so much there in the first place.”
The Keep Gloucestershire Glorious campaign will be tackling places nominated by readers on Saturdays throughout August.
Senior editor Rachael Sugden said: “The onus should be on all of us to care about the places where we live and work - and remember the impact litter has on everyone.
“Our first stop was Great Western Road in Gloucester and we were stunned to bag up four huge sacks of litter in just two hours from only a 200 metre stretch.”