Litter campaign kicks off in Newport
A call has gone out to youngsters and business owners to join other residents in a co-ordinated drive to banish litter from the streets of a Shropshire town.
The plea for people to clean up in Newport follows a major increase in littering since children broke up for their summer holiday last Friday.
Shukers Field and Victoria Park have been particularly badly hit with piles of rubbish left strewn about.
The mass of debris has tested volunteer litter-pickers to their limits and now they are calling on townsfolk, schools and traders to all lend a hand and keep Newport clean.
Town council member Peter Scott, who already organises monthly litter-picks by volunteers, is spearheading the drive after being shocked at the amount of rubbish tossed away since last weekend.
He said: "The volunteers and I filled 13 big bags with litter collected last Sunday, seven of those coming from Victoria Park alone.
"There seems to be a plague of discarded plastic bottles particularly.
"This time last year Shukers field was in a terrible state and it cause quite a big outcry on Facebook with people complaining and I thought 'we can tackle this'.
"I want people not just to complain but to get involved more in clearing the rubbish or trying to ensure that it is not discarded in the first place.
"I have contacted the heads of Newport Chamber of Commerce, the town's regeneration partnership, Newport Civic Society and Newport Town Team to ask them to all come up with some positive ideas to help get this problem sorted.
"I have also begun contacting schools in the area, such as Burton Borough, the junior school, Adams Grammar and the high school to encourage them to get involved by forming litter picking squads to keep the areas around their schools clean.
"I have to say I have had a very positive response already and Burton Borough says it will have a litter picking squad up and running by September."
Councillor Scott said he had also asked Telford & Wrekin Council to provide more litter bins and he urged traders to get involved by keeping the areas outside their shops clean.
He added: "This is not finger-pointing. I know people are proud of Newport and so I'm asking them to show it by joining in and helping to make a difference."
Councillor Scott urged anyone who wanted to volunteer as a litter picker or who knew of an area where rubbish had been dumped to call him on 07929 377549.
