Litter heroes clean up Kettering

Dozens of volunteers turned to give Kettering a tidy and cleared several bags of litter - and even found a broken TV.

The community litter pick, organised by Dez Dell and Emily Fedorowycz of the Kettering Green Party, saw more than 50 people give up their time to remove rubbish from our town.

Setting off from the Rockingham Road Pleasure Park on Sunday morning (September 27) the volunteers picked up all the trash they could find, which was sorted into recyclables and general waste.

And they picked up so much rubbish there was enough to fill 32 waste bags, three bags of plastic bottles, three bags of cans and one of cardboard and one of glass, as well as the broken television.

Dez said: "I'm always amazed at the turnout our litter picks have - it fills me with joy how so many people come out and volunteer their time to do something good in the community.

"It's fantastic to meet all the new faces that come along. There was a big turnout of families this time and the kids, and some of the adults, love the dinosaur pickers.

"Thank you to everyone who helps us to clean up Kettering and it is always great to see our regulars who must be coming up to semi-professional ranking by now."

To maintain social distancing and the rule of six, a queuing system was used with one desk for volunteers to sign in and receive the safety briefing and a separate desk for equipment collection and drop-off.

Equipment is supplied by Kettering Council's street cleansing team who collect the bags after the picks.

Emily said: "We had lots of lovely comments after the event about how well organised the day was, and I'm really happy that people felt safe at the event. With local lockdown restrictions being tightened recently, it was really important to us that we arranged a staggered system to manage crowd pinch points and had a spaced out filing system for people to flow through.

"We are so grateful to all the incredible people who come to join us on these litter picks, and it's such a refreshing thing to do amidst all this mayhem - something that boosts community spirit and morale, and allows us to bring a bit of control back to our lives during this difficult time.”

Stephanie, one of the volunteers, said: "I've been on a few picks now and genuinely cannot believe the amount we collect from such small areas. If everyone was more aware of their impact on their environment and was willing to help towards living in a clean and tidy area, we could all enjoy our town so much more."

Another volunteer, five-year-old Stevie Ann Clements, said: “I felt a great sense of achievement after spending the weekend with my family and friends cleaning up our environment. I wish people would stop throwing their rubbish on the floor, it makes me so sad. I think everyone needs to bin their trash or take it home and recycle it."

And Simon Stokes said: "It was so nice and humbling to see so many caring volunteers happy to give up their Sunday morning in order to clear up the rubbish left by others.

"Yet at the same time it is also sad and disappointing that the need for volunteers to do this even exists."

The next litter pick is on Sunday, October 25, meeting at the Brambleside shops at 10am.

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