More than 1,000 pieces of rubbish collected in litter pick at beauty spot
Volunteers picked up more than 1,000 pieces of litter during a day at beauty spots on and around the Wrekin.
Hundreds of plastic and glass bottles and drinks cans were amongst the rubbish picked up at the Trash Free Trails event.
Local business, Recce, which is a mountain bike guiding specialist, hosted the community litter pick on March 4 with 18 volunteers taking park.
Founder Ruth Finney said: "We invited participants to spend up to two hours collecting litter on the Wrekin, Ercall and Limekiln Woods which resulted in 13 full bin bags."
She said that over 1,000 pieces of litter were collected. These included 191 plastic bottles - 102 of which were water bottles, 215 drinks cans, 55 glass bottles, 152 food wrappers and 69 takeway food/drink containers.
Plastic was also a big problem.
"There were 47 plastic bags and 93 other items of plastic, 40 full dog waste bags, 39 crisp bags, 15 face masks and 12 items of clothing," she added.
The local event was part of Trash Free Trail’s Spring Trail Clean campaign - a series of community-led cleans across the UK. The organisation's mission is to reduce plastic pollution on trails and wild spaces by 75 per cent before 2025 and, in doing so, connect people with nature.
"Trash Free Trails has been collecting rubbish - and data. Every piece of plastic collected is logged, with all findings contributing towards the ‘State of Our Trails Report’ - an academic research project conducted in collaboration with Bangor University.
"The litter picks are always fun, friendly and inclusive - anyone can join. No special equipment is required and on Saturday, we welcomed individuals of all ages, from all backgrounds."
Following this inaugural event at the Wrekin, Ercall & Limekiln Woods, Recce will be hosting Spring Trail Cleans on an annual basis.
