Latest news with #LitterWombles
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Volunteer record for litter picking group
A city litter picking group is reporting a record number of volunteers to help tackle the problem of dumped waste. Peterborough Litter Wombles Association said its membership had never been so high, with pickers passing 300 for the first time. The group, which formed in 2021, said in the last two years it had collected about 10,000 bags of rubbish, plus many larger fly-tipped items. The group's chairman, Harry Machin, said "all sorts of people from four-year-olds to pensioners approaching 80 love to litter pick". Mr Machin said he was thrilled to see record numbers coming together to clean up the city. "It is not all retired people - we have a lot of working volunteers too," he said. "There are lots of groups around Peterborough including PE4 Wombles and groups in the Ortons, Hamptons, Dogsthorpe and Bretton, all doing great work and very effective." He said there was a social aspect to joining a litter pick too - and it meant people could meet others and stay fit, while getting the satisfaction from their area being tidier. Samantha Dolby, 48, has been with the Wombles since last April and has a full-time job. "I maintain a Womble bin and the lamppost rubbish bags in my area, change them and gather them for collection," she said. She collected "sweet wrappers, vapes, tinned drink cans, alcohol bottles, fag packets, all sorts really", she added. "When I'm out and about, if I see any litter, I have to pick it up. I walk my dogs twice a day and always pick up something or other." Margaret Faulkner, 78, has volunteered since Peterborough Litter Wombles formed and said the public really appreciated what the group did. "What starts out as a quick litter pick for an hour turns into three hours, because everybody wants to speak to us. "Little children all seem to know me and say 'hello' - it really is lovely." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Litter-pickers collect 105 drug syringes in a day 'I'm a one-man-band litter picker with no help' Football table and 'wine bush' found in clean-up Peterborough Litter Wombles
BBC News
22-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Volunteer record for Peterborough litter picking group
A city litter picking group is reporting a record number of volunteers to help tackle the problem of dumped Litter Wombles Association said its membership had never been so high, with pickers passing 300 for the first group, which formed in 2021, said in the last two years it had collected about 10,000 bags of rubbish, plus many larger fly-tipped group's chairman, Harry Machin, said "all sorts of people from four-year-olds to pensioners approaching 80 love to litter pick". Mr Machin said he was thrilled to see record numbers coming together to clean up the city."It is not all retired people - we have a lot of working volunteers too," he said."There are lots of groups around Peterborough including PE4 Wombles and groups in the Ortons, Hamptons, Dogsthorpe and Bretton, all doing great work and very effective."He said there was a social aspect to joining a litter pick too - and it meant people could meet others and stay fit, while getting the satisfaction from their area being tidier. Samantha Dolby, 48, has been with the Wombles since last April and has a full-time job."I maintain a Womble bin and the lamppost rubbish bags in my area, change them and gather them for collection," she collected "sweet wrappers, vapes, tinned drink cans, alcohol bottles, fag packets, all sorts really", she added."When I'm out and about, if I see any litter, I have to pick it up. I walk my dogs twice a day and always pick up something or other." Margaret Faulkner, 78, has volunteered since Peterborough Litter Wombles formed and said the public really appreciated what the group did."What starts out as a quick litter pick for an hour turns into three hours, because everybody wants to speak to us."Little children all seem to know me and say 'hello' - it really is lovely." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Football table and 'wine bush' found during Peterborough clean-up
Bushes full of wine bottles, a table-football game and a burnt-out motor scooter were among the things discovered by litter-pickers during the Great British Spring Litter Wombles have been highlighting the problems with littering in the group comprises volunteers who work alongside Peterborough City than 184 volunteers collected 313 bags of litter during the cleaning spree. Almost 200 of the same small Blossom Hill white wine bottles were found in finds from the riverside near Stanground Lode included the rusty, burnt-out scooter, a shopping trolley, nitrous oxide canisters and Wombles chairman Harry Machin said it was an ideal time to clear the area because the river was low."A load of rubbish has washed up into the reed beds, and the vegetation hasn't got going yet," he said. A council spokesperson said: "Following on from a successful similar campaign last year, it's hoped that once again the litter-picks will highlight the positive work carried out by the council and voluntary groups to tackle the problem, as well as encouraging more people to get rid of litter correctly."The Great British Spring Clean and the Great Big School Clean were set up by Keep Britain charity said many volunteers regularly found "retro rubbish" that was dropped many years ago but was still causing harm to the environment today. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
