A mornings litter picking with Karen Beresford of Buxton Town Team litter picking group
Plastic bottles, crisp packets, bits of carpet, bathing towels, the plastic wrapping from a pair of swimming trunks, paper and of course drink cans, these were just some of the items of rubbish that we found on a recent litter pick at a local beauty spot.
I had joined Karen Beresford who runs the Buxton Town Team litter picking group, to spend a couple of hours tackling the never ending problem of litter that blights our towns and our countryside.
Though there is something satisfying in picking up litter, it is frustrating to think that people drop their trash and rubbish there in the first place. It is after all a beautiful, peaceful spot. In summer full of wildflowers and bird song.
But it does not seem to matter where you go, you will find discarded rubbish. Even providing bins does not always solve the problem. Whether it’s leaving the waste from a picnic or BBQ, or throwing bottles and plastic from a vehicle, it seems as if some people just don’t care.
Out of sight out of mind, and anyway someone else will pick it up.
We cleared two big sacks of rubbish from the site. So now at least for a little while it is free of discarded plastic and wrappers. And walking there will be a pleasanter experience.
We decide that as there was still time we would tackle a small section of the Tongue lane industrial estate. This was littering on a different scale.
As well as the usual items, there were bits of engine, oil containers, nappies wrapped in plastic bags and half full bottles of liquid. Plastic sheeting lay discarded on a patch of ‘waste ground’, and shreds of plastic bag caught by the wind lay twisted round the stunted bushes.
We could only scratch the surface. There is still much more to be done as you can see from the photos above.
I could not help wondering if this little patch of waste ground could be put to much better use. Planted with fruit trees, perhaps part of Transition Buxton’s urban orchard scheme, and wildflowers to attract bees, butterflies and other insects, and a bench, it could become a little haven of tranquillity,somewhere to sit and have a sandwich, or just to relax from all the hurly burly around you.
One for the Urbitat project perhaps?
Karen is always glad to hear from new
enthusiastic litter pickers and you can contact
her by email stoop.farm@icloud.com
