School Eco Team and volunteers make Royton community litter pick a success
28/04/2023
This week we welcomed pupils from Thorp Primary School’s Eco Team and local volunteers to join in our Royton North community litter pick.
Kitted out with high viz vests and grabbers, our litter heroes took part in walkabouts at Holly Estate and Oozewood with our Neighbourhood Care and Neighbourhoods teams, collecting up rubbish as they went.
School pupils blitzed a patch at Holly Estate to collect an impressive six bags of litter in less than half an hour, and altogether our litter pickers cleared 20+ sacks of rubbish between them across both neighbourhoods.
Members of our Neighbourhood Care team took away bulky debris that had been abandoned in green spaces, too. Great work everyone!
Among the Thorp Primary pupils taking part was Will, who says:
“We do litter picking like this because it’s good for the environment and helps make sure all the animals and species are safe. It gets the area looking tidier and makes Oldham a better place.”
Mazhar Aslam, Neighbourhood Coordinator for Royton North says: “We’re delighted to have had fantastic support today from Thorp Primary pupils and our volunteers, all passionate about keeping Royton tidy. It’s terrific to see and hopefully they can inspire their family, friends and neighbours to do the same. Thank you for being involved.”
Ways we’re tackling litter and waste in neighbourhoods
Most people take pride in where they live, but unfortunately a minority don’t, and rubbish and fly tipping are persistent issues in a number of our neighbourhoods.
We know the negative impact this has on people and where they live, that’s why we've launched a new strategy to help make neighbourhoods cleaner, greener, great places to live and support Oldham Council's Don't Trash Oldham campaign.
On a rolling programme until March 2025, we are targeting places affected by abandoned rubbish and arranging community litter picks, waste collection days, customer engagement activities to promote good recycling habits and improving bin facilities at communal blocks of flats.
We really want to make a positive difference in our neighbourhoods and for our customers to feel proud of where they live. After we have cleaned up an area, we are asking customers to help us by doing their bit to keep it neat and tidy.