The Annual New Years day litter picking event attracted a great response this year.
Over 40 people met by the Post office at 10.30am in the centre of Rawtenstall on a cold sunny morning to be given high visibility jackets , litter pickers and bags.
Chris Blomerley, who had organised the event, directed people where to target around the town to have maximum impact .
It was great to see so many people including families and existing volunteers and a few dogs . The whole morning had a real social vibe with everyone enjoying making a real difference by clearing away litter and debris that had been left .
A wide variety of litter was found including lots of large fireworks from the celebrations , vapes and cigarette butts , and a leaf blower.
The big hope is that by collecting litter it will discourage people from throwing more down.
Most of our litter pickers go out alone or in small groups so this event was a real opportunity to celebrate together the work the litter picking volunteers do around the area .
Rawtenstall is very fortunate that it has a magnificent volunteer Keith Ormerod who is out collecting litter most days of the year around the town . This past year he has collected over 410 bags of litter + lots of items that he recycles and he regularly reports bulky waste he finds left around the town and on the bypass coming into Rawtenstall , he was even out on Christmas day. Holding this annual litter picking event really helps Keith keep the town litter free.
We also have many other magnificent litter pickers around Rawtenstall , Waterfoot, Cowpe and Crawshawbooth with our colleagues at Bacup , Stacksteads , Haslingden and Helmshore who all help to keep the Valley litter free .
If you would like to become a litter picker in the area or would like to help with looking after the gardens please contact us for a chat to find out more via email [email protected] or see our
website www.civic-pride.org.uk.
