Removing litter from the streets of Kempston.
What a waste of time! Or is it?
A couple of pictures to illustrate the amount of litter I’ve collected during some litter picking sessions in south Kempston.
As a volunteer litter picker, or Community Champion* I am acutely aware of the amount of aluminium cans / plastic bottles / food packaging / vape and cigarette paraphernalia (I could go on), discarded on the streets of our town. Is littering and fly-tipping a problem we should accept to live with? I strongly believe that this problem can be reduced (if not eradicated) with a combination of community action, increasing public awareness and greater vigilance from the local authorities. Firstly, let me give some background as to why I personally decided to become a volunteer litter picker. Over the past 3 years I’ve sporadically traipsed the streets of Kempston, with my trusty grabber, refuse sack holder, sturdy boots and an ample supply of bin bags. I try to get out at least once a week for a couple of hours, as a week appears to be the amount of time it takes for the litter to build up again. My personal choice to become a volunteer was mainly due to a growing frustration at the amount of litter I was seeing on the streets of Kempston. Rather than just sit at home stewing, I thought to myself “this is my home, I don’t want to live in an area strewn with litter, so what is stopping me doing something about the problem”. Initially I went out with some inadequate equipment and it was a bit of a struggle, then one of the neighbours informed me about the Bedford Volunteering service. I did a quick search on the web, found their website, sent off an email and within days they had provided me with the tools and safety equipment required to become a “Bedford Borough Champion”. They even deliver the equipment to your door!
Living in the South of Kempston I tend to concentrate my litter picking activities between the Saxon Centre and Wyatt Road. Although I’ve been known to venture into other areas when feeling particularly adventurous. And yes, you might be thinking “this not my idea of a fun way to spend my spare time”, however you’d be surprised at the unusual items that are out there to be found, if you know where to look. Amongst some of the more interesting items I’ve come across are: a bag full of costume jewellery, a wallet containing cards and cash (returned to it’s rightful owners of course), shoes, clothing, small electrical appliance and tools. The majority of the time I try to repurpose these items where possible. The latest unusual item discovered was a pet cage (left), dumped beside the bottle recycling area in the car park opposite the Co-op on St Johns Street. Unfortunately this item was too big to fit in my bin bag, so I reported it to the Borough council and it has subsequently been removed. I must warn you though, that litter picking can have some unwanted side-effects. I now find myself walking around looking at the ground all the time, searching for micro-plastics hidden in the cracks of pavements and I find it extremely difficult to walk past discarded items of litter without picking them up, which can elongate a quick trip to the shops by a fair bit.
As the example of the pet cage shows, there are instruments provided by the council to deal with fly-tipping and littering, indeed their website tells me that they provide 1,800 bins in Bedford and Kempston (which you would think would be ample, if people chose to use them!). And of course they have their own street cleaning teams and have the power to hand out fixed penalty notices. Don’t get me wrong though, there is always room for improvement. Issues such as overflowing and damaged bins are a blight and I am unable to tell you whether or not fixed penalty notices are handed out on a regular basis, although I have never personally witnessed anyone from the council out on the streets monitoring the situation.
The problem of litter is no way insurmountable though. It is a commonly accepted theory that (in general) people who live in cleaner, greener areas tend to take more pride in the place where they live and as a result try to maintain the ambience of their neighbourhood. Indeed, I’ve recently noticed more and more of the blue bin bags, provided by the Volunteer Service, propped up against litter bins waiting to be collected by the Council, which would indicate more volunteers are out there doing their bit. And maybe/hopefully this is having a knock on effect, as I personally think there has been be a reduction in the amount of litter in the town in recent months.
In summary, I don’t believe it would take a huge effort for Kempston to significantly reduce the amount of rubbish on it’s streets to more manageable levels and in doing so making Kempston a more pleasant environment to live in for both it’s human inhabitants and the birds and animals with whom we share this space. More community involvement, an increase in the maintenance and emptying of the bins provided by the council and a more visible presence of enforcement teams to deter the more persistent offenders could make a significant difference.
Kempston Climate Change Group are planning a community litter pick, as part of the Bedford Green Week event in June and everyone is welcome to come and join us. Details to follow soon.
Details on how to become a volunteer litter picker and report littering and fly-tipping issues can be found below.
Chris Holden
(Chair of the Kempston Climate Group)
You can register to be a Community Champion here: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/community-volunteering/community-volunteering
If you see an environmental problem (fly-tipping, hazardous waste for example) you can report them to Bedford Borough Council: https://www.bedford.gov.uk/environmental-issues/keeping-bedford-borough-clean/fly-tipping-dumped-rubbish