Sixteen volunteers collected 70 bags of rubbish in Altrincham on Community Clear Up Day – and now Trafford Council has been warned it must step in to reduce the “shocking” levels of litter in the town centre.
The volunteers, of varying age and ability, took part in the country-wide government initiative on Saturday, splitting into four teams and spending three hours tidying around the town.
Below: Some of the volunteers taking part in the clean-up
Local community organisation Our Altrincham, which coordinated the clear-up in Altrincham, said the volunteers collected more rubbish than any other one Trafford group on the day.
And Sarah Walmsley, who set up Our Altrincham, said that since July 2010 it has collected 1,342 bags of rubbish, or 107 tonnes of waste, which she claimed had saved the taxpayer £67,000 in council services.
But she has now called on Trafford Council to place more of a priority on keeping the streets clean.
“It’s a shocking mess,” she said, “why should volunteers make the effort to put rubbish in the bins when it just flows out again?
“The council needs to step up – I have been asking and asking to have the car parks cleaned because it makes such an impression on visitors, but Regent Road Car Park was absolutely filthy and we hardly scratched the surface with Oakfield Road Car Park.”
Before Saturday’s clean-up, Our Altrincham’s volunteers had been “on strike” for six months in protest at the lack of action from the council.
Walmsley had even delivered a pile of rubbish bags to the home of Coun John Reilly, executive member for environment, in response to the perceived inaction.
“I don’t see the problems in Trafford elsewhere, and ultimately it comes down to priorities,” added Walmsley. “It’s not just a lack of resources but bad management.”
Our Altrincham will be holding another clean-up event on April 19th, the day of the Greater Manchester Marathon.
