Lockdown litter louts urged to take pride in their town
One unfortunate side effect of the coronavirus pandemic has been an increase in litter and bins filling up sooner, according to an outgoing town mayor.
Peter Scott, of Newport, said that takeaway containers have become a more common sight during the pandemic and throughout the most recent lockdown.
Newport Town Council recently launched a litter picker loaner scheme, so anyone can sign out one or more litter grippers to use around the town.
And Councillor Scott’s community litter picking group has been especially busy over the last year.
He said: “There has definitely been more litter since the pandemic started and definitely more during the last lockdown.
“More people have taken to carrying takeaway food and drinks on their regular walks which has resulted in the public bins becoming full by the weekend.
"To help combat this I have arranged extra bin emptying from Telford & Wrekin Council, which has helped. It is up to us.
“The recent dry spell also attracted more people to the public parks, which again resulted in more litter.
“In Newport we have more bins than most other areas in the county. It is up to us all to use them or take our rubbish home with us. The majority of people are thoughtful but it doesn’t take many to make an area look untidy.
“A plastic bottle can take about 500 years to decompose. These are regularly just dropped on the ground in places like Norbroom Park despite there being 10 litter bins up there. I would ask everyone to do their bit to help keep Newport tidy.
“The community litter pickers meet again next Sunday at 9am from the Guildhall. New pickers are always welcome.
“A town is only as tidy as its residents want it to be.”
To learn more about loaning litter pickers, email town.clerk@newportshropshire-tc.gov.uk or call 01952 814338.
