During the glorious lockdown weather last summer, we got a lot of visitors in Castlefield, taking advantage of the open spaces to meet with friends. Unfortunately it generated a lot of litter, Gary started doing some litter picking in his free time and in June created Castlefield Litter Pickers to help deal with the issues. Independently of Castlefield Forum, he organised equipment and encouraged volunteers to go out for a couple of hours on litter picking events. Gary and Castlefield Litter Pickers became part of Castlefield Forum in September, and Gary is now a Forum Trustee.
During 2020, they managed to collect a whopping 311 bags of rubbish. That's a lot of litter! And they've made a great start for this year too, with a total of 28 bags collected in January.
If you are interested in doing some litter picking around your part of Castlefield, why not sign up for the action group - just email us here - or join the group on facebook
All sessions are currently socially distanced, and here are some tips from Gary:
Our Litter picking sessions will still be going ahead but they will be slightly different just to ensure
everyone is safe:
Events will be posted as usual. Not necessarily on the same day but I hope to make them a weekly occurrence. Please do register your interest so I can see how much equipment I will need to prepare
Equipment will be left unattended, though regularly checked, in a “drop in” station at the Castlefield bowl. All the equipment will be provided for you. Simply grab what you need, go out and pick some litter and then return the equipment back to the station. Very simple!
This means you can come along any time between the hours suggested and pick litter for as long as you want. I do ask that you take photos for the group so they can see all of our collective efforts in cleaning up our local community of litter. These can be sent directly to me on Facebook Messenger and I will post them up on the groups page
I will also leave details for where the litter can be dropped off on the event page. These will always be at a public bin so please make sure it is left responsibly. The bags will be collected by Biffa after the event
If for any reasons you need support before or during your time out picking, then please do contact me through Facebook messenger. I am more than happy to help with anything you might need. You can also flag me down if you see me out and about picking during the event too
Can’t attend the event? No problem! I am happy to provide all the equipment for you to do solo picking. Again, it is simply a matter of messaging me on Facebook and I can arrange to drop of the equipment in a covid-19 safe manner
Finally, please do stay safe. Make sure you also follow all government guidance’s when you are outside too, and I encourage you all to take hand sanitiser with you and to wear a mask for extra protection
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