Crackdown on litter as New Forest Spring Clean underway
Litter heroes tackle rubbish
Last updated 29th Mar 2022
New Forest organisations and local litter heroes are doing their bit over the next two and a half weeks to tackle rubbish.
The New Forest Spring Clean is part of the national Great British Spring Clean from Keep Britain Tidy and runs until April 10th.
This year it asks people to join the #BigBagChallenge and pledge to pick up as much litter as you can during the campaign.
You can make your pledge by visiting www.keepbritaintidy.org and choose New Forest District Council as the Local Authority so organisers can see how many bags are collected across the New Forest.
New Forest National Park Authority Chair Gavin Parker said:
‘We are grateful to those who generously volunteer their time to enhance and protect the Forest. Any litter left in our National Park can have a huge impact from starting wildfires, polluting the land and waterways, and affecting commoners’ animals and wildlife. A big thank you for the continued dedication from our ambassadors and local litter picking groups and volunteers who have tirelessly litter-picked throughout the year. Anyone can join in to help care for the Forest and we are calling on more families, communities and businesses to join this concerted effort to help us to clean up the Forest this spring.’
More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day with the cost to the taxpayers for street cleaning reaching over £1 billion a year. Over recent years many local areas, including the New Forest, have seen a rise in the amount and different types of litter.
Get involved
New Forest District Council can lend equipment for groups of up to 30 volunteers, including litter grabbers and hi-vis jackets, for organised litter picking events. It will supply rubbish sacks and arrange to collect the waste after the litter pick. As much waste as possible will be recycled. To register your litter pick and your bags collected, get more information and request support for your event go to www.newforest.gov.uk/litterpicking.
Families and individuals can also get free litter picking equipment and advice on their clean up when they sign up as a New Forest Ambassadors with the New Forest National Park Authority. Find out more at www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/nfambassadors.
Forestry England and NFDC are also working together throughout March and April to carry out litter picking along 100 kilometres of Forest roadside verges. Local people are strongly advised not to put themselves at risk and therefore not litter pick along any road verges.
Fly-tipping
The illegal dumping of rubbish is also a problem in the New Forest and local organisations have been working to tackle that by targeting vehicles without waste licences..
Last month in just one early morning operation in the New Forest the group stopped almost 50 vehicles to check their licences and take action against those failing to meet their obligations to dispose of waste legally and safely.
Craig Harrison, Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest, Forestry England, said:
‘Litter has no place in a Forest, it harms wildlife and damages the landscape. Our staff come across it every day and collect up everything from food packing to electrical equipment. Local residents and businesses can also make a big impact by ensuring they check if their waste carrier is licenced and properly disposing of waste which can easily be done online.‘
Litter picking safety advice
• don’t litter pick along road verges
• avoid litter picking steep slopes, cliff edges or in water courses
• always litter pick in daylight, and wear appropriate clothing and footwear, including a hi vis vest if possible
• use a litter grabber to pick things up, and don’t attempt to pick up anything too heavy, sharp or hazardous
• report any fly tipping or hazardous items, such as needles, to the council as soon as possible at www.newforest.gov.uk or on 023 8028 5000
• be aware of other people, dogs, and wildlife, and make sure children are supervised at all times
• don’t enter private land without permission
• if you are organising a litter pick, please make sure you follow health and safety guidance for community litter picking: www.newforest.gov.uk/litterpicking