62 Tonnes Of Litter And Fly Tipping Have Been Cleared From Streets

More than 62 tonnes of litter and fly tipping have been cleared from streets, parks and beauty spots in Torfaen as part of a campaign to make the borough cleaner and greener. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Torfaen council employed an extra 30 street cleaners to join its front line teams for two weeks to tackle streets, shopping areas, parks, road verges, cycle paths, and other hard to reach areas. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The ‘deep clean’ of the borough was supported by 20 community led litter picks, facilitated by Keep Wales Tidy. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Around 250 volunteers took part in litter picks in Blaenavon, Cwmbran and Pontypool, collecting more than 300 bags of rubbish and clocking up more than 500 volunteer hours. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The hashtag #TorfaenSpringClean was seen by more than 40,000 people. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Torfaen People’s Panel also attended events, speaking with volunteers to understand how the council can engage the community better on cleaner, greener issues. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Councillor John Cunningham, executive member for neighbourhood services, said: “The response from the public for our Torfaen Spring Clean has been fantastic. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Our crews work hard to keep the borough clean, and I must thank them for the extra hours they have put in over the last few weeks. But keeping our communities clean and free of litter is everyone’s responsibility, and I would particularly like to thank the volunteers who gave their time to take part in spring clean events in their area. I would also like to thank Keep Wales Tidy for all of their support.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We know that these events have galvanised many people in our communities to join local groups to look after their local areas, and I would urge anyone wanting to join a group, or to start their own, to get in touch with us.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The leader of Torfaen council, Anthony Hunt, said: “We have listened to residents who told us that a cleaner, greener borough is one of their top priorities, and we have invested an extra £250,000 annually into our front-line street cleansing services. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The deep clean carried out by our staff, and the many bags of litter collected by volunteers, reinforces the fact that only by working together can we address the issue of litter and fly tipping in our communities.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​