Tidy Our Town: ‘We need to take pride in where we live,’ says dedicated litter picker of seven years

A dedicated litter picker of seven years, who runs a group in her area of Northampton, urges residents to take pride in where they live and take action against the growing issue.

Sally Jordan has been the chairperson of the Ecton Brook Residents Group since 2017, which is also when she started regularly litter picking the area.

Having lived there since 2010, Sally’s main reason for taking action is that she wanted to feel pride in where she lives and she refused to let it become a “landfill site”.

Sally, her husband Danny and their friends Doug and Dorothy Harvey make up the Ecton Brook Clean Up Crew, which first took off after the pandemic restrictions were eased.

They regularly let the 1,700 members of the residents’ Facebook group know much they have cleared, while encouraging them to get involved by highlighting the “grot spots”.

Last year Sally was named as an inspirational woman by West Northamptonshire Council, partly because of her continued drive to tidy up her area.

Though the pandemic curtailed group picks in Ecton Brook, the four consistent Clean Up Crew members go out as and when they can – and when the weather permits.

The group has evolved over the past seven years, with Sally initially going out with a group of women from the area and alone on many occasions.

“It’s about pride but also community,” Sally told the Chronicle & Echo. “Forming a community that cares about each other.”

More than 50 bags of litter were collected by the four members of the Clean Up Crew last month, as well as following up reports of numerous fly tips. Sally says people show their appreciation for what they do.

When asked what message she would like to send about the importance of taking pride in where you live and taking action, Sally said: “Don’t just sit on your computer commenting on the state of a street, area or road, get up, get a litter picker and get out there. It’s good exercise, you talk to people and form a community.

“Unfortunately if it carries on, the planet will fight back. I sometimes think we’re the biggest virus on this planet. People are happy to throw things out of their car windows and where do they think it goes?

“Take responsibility for this planet. We do it for the grandchildren as we’d like them to have a planet to grow up on.”

Lastly, Sally was asked what more she believes needs to be done to tackle the issue of littering and fly tipping across the town and county.

She hopes for the installation of more litter bins as she sees “a lot of people putting bin bags in laybys” to be used by passersby.

Sally would also like to see greater messaging from the authorities about what you should and should not put in bins, and ensuring they “come down” on the people responsible for fly tips if they are tracked down.

If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established by the Chronicle & Echo with the support of the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].