Volunteers pile 79 bags of rubbish outside Derbyshire store to shame litterers

Volunteers who took part in the Big Clowne Clean Up. Picture by Andrew Cox.

In the space of 24 hours, 79 bags of rubbish were collected and piled in a mountain outside Wilko in the village centre to stigmatise those who litter and encourage people to think twice about buying single-use plastic. The rubbish was later disposed of.

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More than 40 volunteers of all ages took part in the Big Clowne Clean Up on Saturday.

The bags of rubbish which were left outside Wilko in Clowne. Picture by Andrew Cox.

Councillor Natalie Hoy, who represents Clowne East on Bolsover District Council, said: "It was great to see local residents and many young residents taking proactive action like this and taking pride in our environment.

"Residents of all ages want to live, work and go to school in a clean area and I'd like to say a big well done and thank you Kimberley Willett, of Plastic Free Clowne, who organised the event and to all that took part.

"I would also like to thank Wilko in Clowne for allowing us to display the pile and literature outside the store and to Bolsover District Council Streetscene for all of their support and help."

Event organiser Kimberley Willett, of Plastic Free Clowne, added: "Addressing the social issues surrounding the prevalence of littering is not something which can be done overnight.

"However, I'm hopeful that with the increased concern around related issues such as river and ocean plastic pollution, we can work towards making littering much less socially acceptable than it currently is."

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