Keep Haverhill Tidy collects almost 70 per cent more bags than expected in successful clean-up

A community litter-tidying group exceeded it’s target for the number of bags of rubbish collected in a clean-up campaign by almost 70 per cent.

Keep Haverhill Tidy set a target of gathering 80 bags by the time the two-week Great British Spring Clean ended on Sunday. It collected 134.

Founder of Keep Haverhill Tidy, Joe Mason said he was “incredibly grateful” to everyone that took part, including Maria Bradnam, who collected 17 bin bags in one day.

He was also delighted to welcome the involvement of children’s groups this year, including LK Childcare, Nanny Netty Childminding, and Charlene’s Childcare and to see groups like Leading Lives planning their own clean-ups.

Joe gave a special thanks to Anabelle Hudson, Gemma Cullen, Jackie Pedzinski, Tony Brown, Bruce Davidson and Margaret Marks and the waste team at West Suffolk Council for their support.

He said: “Obviously we are delighted that we have taken so much waste from our local environment, but it also highlights the continued issue of littering, especially the high number of cans and bottles collected.

“This reinforces the urgent need for initiatives such as reverse vending machines, which would go a long way in promoting recycling and reducing waste in public areas and more bins in high waste areas.

“The most commonly found items were plastic bottles, drink cans, crisp packets and sweet or chocolate wrappers.”

A significant number of dog poo bags were found discarded in bushes and trees, added Joe.

“While we acknowledge that the vast majority of dog walkers act responsibly, it is unfortunate that a minority continue to treat our shared green spaces with disregard,” he said.

“As a group we are acutely aware that we didn't get it all. We can't and we need help from the whole community to create the change we would all like to see.”

To find out more about Keep Haverhill Tidy visit HERE