‘Take pride in your community,’ says Northants Litter Womble as hotspot areas to be targeted this week

A Northants Litter Womble has urged everyone to “take pride in their community”, while she shared the latest hotspot areas to be tackled by litter picks.

The award-winning community action group, which continues to work hard towards making the county litter-free, supported another two organised picks in problem areas on Monday (August 21).

The first was organised by The Lab in Charles Street, The Mounts, and the second was with Heathers, a community cafe in Kingsley Park Terrace.

Alison McClean, the event coordinator at Northants Litter Wombles, shared the “important work” being done by the residents to take care of these neighbourhoods.

Both share the same ethos as the Wombles, in taking direct action to face littering and fly tipping head on.

Alison first joined the Wombles in 2021 during the pandemic, when her puppy used to eat everything in sight during their daily walks.

Alison litter picked the route she and her dog would take ahead of the walks – which included lots of PPE at the time.

She then took the opportunity to join the Wombles and said: “It’s addictive. Once you start, you can’t stop and it’s nice to feel part of a community.”

Talking to this newspaper about a monthly litter pick that takes place in Duke Street, Alison described it as a “really important litter pick” as 50 bags are typically collected in the two-hour sessions.

At last month’s pick, they found furniture, mattresses, drug paraphernalia, a quantity of discarded medication, and a rat’s nest among it all.

The litter pick organised by The Lab in Charles Street, nearby to Duke Street, was set up just a couple of weeks ago and the Wombles donated £200 of equipment to them.

Those taking part in the Heathers community cafe pick meet every Monday at 2pm and around 10-to-12 bags are collected each week – near the Poets Corner and Kettering Road area.

As time goes on, the more established these picks have and will become and volunteer numbers will grow.

Alison stressed the importance of getting the word out there about litter picks, as people really enjoy it and see benefits for their mental health and wellbeing.

“If you sit back and moan, nothing is achieved,” she said. “Direct action and taking responsibility for your own area will encourage people to think twice about dropping litter.

“We also want people to make better decisions when disposing of household waste. It’s a problem in the town centre when rubbish is put out days before it is due to be collected.

“Take pride in your community and it’ll encourage others to. Everyone should live in a litter-free environment.”

When asked how it makes the Wombles feel when another litter pick is organised in a new community, Alison said: “Absolutely amazing.

“Our ethos is we want a litter-free Northamptonshire. When people take ownership, it shows there’s a love for the county and they want to look after their environment.

“If we keep on doing this, there’s every chance we can achieve a litter-free county.”

“We don’t do it for the glory,” she added. “It’s such an inclusive thing and everyone thinks in a like-minded way. We are making a change.”

For more information and to get involved with the Northants Litter Wombles, visit their Facebook page here.