Tidy Our Town: ‘I went for a pick with the Litter Wombles and it restored my faith in our community’

Back in February, we launched the Tidy Our Town campaign to shine a light on the incredible work of volunteers – as well as the hotspots and issues that need tackling desperately.

With 20 stories under our belt, strong praise has continued to roll in for the thousands of litter pickers across the county and more people have expressed interest in getting involved in their important work.

On Sunday (June 16), this newspaper hosted a pick in Semilong in collaboration with the Litter Wombles – to tackle hotspots on the periphery of the town centre and routes regularly used to reach the heart of Northampton.

I was one of 18 volunteers who came out in force and after a rainy start to the weekend, the sun shone on the Wombles on Sunday morning – as committee member Alison McClean says it usually does.

It was great to meet Alison, as well as group founder Nicola Elliott, members of the Semilong Wombles, and representatives from the Northampton Rotary.

A total of 50 purple bags were filled in the initial hour-and-a-half that the whole group took part, and a few devotees went back and collected another 14 as they wanted to finish what they had started.

This contributed to the total number of bags filled since the volunteer group was founded, which currently stands at more than 96,600. The race to 100,000 continues.

As a first time litter picker, the experience restored my faith in our community and instilled a sense of pride about what we can achieve when we come together.

It was great to be surrounded by like-minded individuals, who feel equally as passionate about tidying up the area and tackling the issue as a whole. Though people tell you it is heartening to be part of a group pick, you do not realise the full extent until you go along.

It also reinforced that litter picking is for anyone and everyone. The group was lucky to be joined by 10-year-old Freddie, who Alison described as their “super womble”.

Freddie proudly wore his Womble cap and pulled the trolley around for people to dispose of their full purple bags – which is one of his favourite parts of attending litter picks.

While on one residential street, a woman kindly gifted the 10-year-old a packet of sweets to say thank you for helping to keep her area tidy.

One thing I did not anticipate was how quickly the bags fill up over such a short distance.

Cans, bottles and food packaging were the most frequent items I picked, and this emphasised the need for the roll out of a Deposit Return Scheme in the future.

We also came across lots of broken glass, which is not something Litter Wombles can tackle themselves and it has to be reported to the local authorities to be cleared. It is disheartening to leave this behind when the rest of a street looks spick-and-span.

One thing I did note, particularly on the residential streets, was the two opposite responses from members of the public. They either thank you for your time and hard work, or look embarrassed that it has taken a volunteer group to clear up the area they should already take pride in.

Meaningful conversations were had with residents intrigued by the purple hi-vis jackets and rubbish bags, who were inspired to get involved and make a difference of their own.

All the volunteers went back to Cafe 1850 to dispose of their rubbish bags, give back borrowed equipment, and socialise over refreshments to mark the end of the session.

This proved how easy it is to start conversations and build bonds with fellow Wombles, and immerse yourself in future group picks. I would highly recommend getting involved to anyone thinking about it.

If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].

To get involved and find out more, you can join the Northants Litter Wombles Facebook page here.