Wanstead picks up

IMG_0861Wansteadium reader Dan Slipper writes:

As a resident of Cambridge Road I have become increasingly concerned about the amount of litter in my street and along Cambridge Park.  I have flagged the issue to Redbridge Council and over the last few weekends I have been spending an hour collecting rubbish from the road, pavements and hedgerows.  I have also been in contact with Wanstead Community Gardeners to explore ways of improving the two small garden spaces in Cambridge Road and Cambridge Park.
There is a national campaign encouraging people to collect litter and improve the look of their local area called The Great British Spring Clean.  Events are taking place from 3-5 March – so I wondered if anyone in Wanstead wants to join in an effort?
Anyone interested is invited to email info@wansteadium.com – we will pass on details to Dan.

 

17 thoughts on “Wanstead picks up”

  1. I would like to raise an issue regarding the Recycling collection team.
    We have ours collected Monday and on the evening the streets are littered with card, tins that they clearly dropped from the boxes and could not be bothered to pick up.

  2. Yes I agree and George Green is particularly depressing when one walks across it every morning to see rubbish just feet away from the bins. Wanstead High school students often get the blame but it’s not always them. I’ve also noticed litter that has clearly been decanted from some commuter cars parked (for free!!) in surrounding residential roads not to mention an increase in dog fouling.
    Last week the bin men left my road in a mess.

    1. There is almost always broken glass scattered around on the footpath next to one of the bins on George Green; any time it seems to have been cleared, there is more again the next time I’m there. Someone must regularly, and like clockwork, make a point of smashing a bottle in that spot just for kicks.

  3. I agree that it is saddening to see the amount of litter on our streets. I often wonder whether it is just generated by people passing through, or residents too. I’ve lived in Wanstead for well over thirty years, and love it dearly. Never would I dream of dropping litter, and I want to believe that residents feel the same as me, and think that many do. But for whatever reason it is definitely a growing problem. And as for the comments about rubbish and re-cycling collections, I agree that something has changed. Our Monday collectors used to be so careful and efficient, but now they seem to be under pressure to work so quickly that rubbish is spilt over and left on the pavements, and our re-cycling boxes are just tossed back onto the front paths after emptying, so much so that they are getting damaged and split. Are these contractors being expected to deal with a larger area every day? Otherwise what accounts for the change?

  4. Thanks to all the people who have made contact about being part of The Great British Spring Clean in Wanstead.

    It would be great if you could continue to spread the word as well as suggest places which you feel could do with tidying up. Hopefully we can improve the look of the area and encourage everyone to start taking more care.

  5. The volunteer Clean-up is great and all that, but one has to wonder what are we paying our council tax for? Street cleaners PAID to do this stuff don’t seem to be doing it.

    1. I understand your comment GB but I can’t remember the last time I saw a street cleaner in my road. My suspicion is they have to concentrate on the main areas and don’t have time to do the side roads. I’m hoping we can offer what I suspect is much needed help.

  6. I think a fair part are foxes. Early in the morning I sometimes see bin bags ripped open and rubbish bins ransacked, both most likely the result of foxes. Only takes a bit of wind and the rubbish is blown elsewhere.

    1. Yes some of this is a result of fox activity, but not all of it by a long way. The rubbish strewn deep into the bushes along the Cambridge Park A12 wall, and caught there by the thorny nature of those bushes, is almost certainly dumped there by passing lazy humans disposing of their crisp bags, drink containers and take-away boxes.

      When you see rubbish that doesn’t look like household things but instead are things people “walk around” using or consuming, you know it was not distributed there by foxes but by people who don’t care where they put their on-the-go rubbish.

      1. That’s why I said ‘a fair part of it’. The clue was in the words I used.

        Like moist things in life, it’s not black and white and is a result of a variety of things: foxes, refuse collectors, littering, overflowing bins etc. I see the bins on the green often overflowing with items as you describe. It’s likely that some of that is also from foxes rummaging or that fact they’re not emptied often enough and it over-spills.

        1. No need to be snarky with “the clue was in the words I used,” thank you very much.

          To me “a fair part” suggest quite a bit if not “most” in my interpretation. I would say the “fair part” if not “most” is human. Not denying foxes do their part but I think there is a far greater human problem in the form of not giving a flying one. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

          So it’s a fox that sticks empty glass booze bottles right in the middle of bushes, is it? Riiiight. Those darn foxes with their bottles.

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