Retailer wraps-up summer of litter picks at seaside town

A local retailer has collected over 60 bags of rubbish from Suffolk beauty spots this summer as they complete their eighth litter pick in support of BBC Radio Suffolk campaign ‘Don’t be a Tosser’.

The East of England Co-op have completed their summer of litter picks, finishing with a beach clean at the seaside town of Felixstowe.

Over the past five weeks the local retailer has been supporting Suffolk campaign ‘Don’t be a Tosser’, whose aim this year was to reduce fly-tipping and graffiti, as well as littering, across the county.

The East of England Co-op’s community and senior management teams completed six of their own litter picks in Aldeburgh, Lavenham, Dedham, Framlingham, Beccles and Felixstowe, collecting over 20 bags of rubbish. 

They also joined the Proud of Mersea Volunteers on their clean-up of Mersea Island, collecting over 20 bags of litter in just two hours, as well as the Pickerel Project in Stowmarket, picking up 140kg of rubbish left along, and in, the River Gipping.

Reflecting on the campaign, Lynn Warner, Events Manager at the East of England Co-op and organiser of the litter picks, said: “Whilst we were expecting there to be a large amount of plastic waste, we were surprised and disappointed that wipes – whether face, hand or baby wipes – were actually most prevalent across all of the sites we visited. Despite there being plenty of bins for people to use, car parks were certainly where we found most litter.

“Whilst it isn’t a pleasant thing to do, we did enjoy spending time in the communities and particularly with the volunteers at Mersea Island and Stowmarket. What was particularly encouraging was seeing young families take part. Young people are our future and I think it’s important that they learn and take an interest in the environment around them.”

If you’d like to make a difference in your local community, the East of England Co-op have shared advice on organising a litter pick on their website. Just be careful to follow the latest Government social distancing guidelines.