Members of Margate Women’s Institute collected a staggering 25 bin bags of rubbish during just one hour of litter picking at Tivoli Park in Margate this month.
Margate WI members have returned to Tivoli several times throughout the year to rid the area of litter, and on the latest litter pick on December 22 were saddened to see higher than usual levels of rubbish blighting the community space.
Margate WI committee member Mandy Jarvis co-ordinates the litter campaign for the group.
She said: ‘I think we were all surprised and a little shocked at how much rubbish there was in Tivoli this time. We keep revisiting the site and we have already cleared 114 bags worth of litter from there since 2023.
“So to pick up enough plastic bottles, cans and fast food wrappers to fill 25 bags in one hour was disheartening. It was the most we have collected during any of our sessions so far.
“We also collected a few large nitrous oxide canisters scattered around the park, and it is concerning to find such things in what should be a lovely park area for families to enjoy.”
Margate WI is asking people to consider adopting a greener resolution for the new year.
Mandy said: “Tivoli is just one area in the town our WI members have visited to pick up rubbish and while it is clear it needs more waste bins, we want people to consider their own actions when it comes to littering.
“Please take your litter home, encourage others to do so, as once plastic is left in our parks, woodlands and other green spaces, it remains there, and will affect our wildlife too.
“We all can play our part to keep Margate marvellous, and we hope people will remember that for this coming year.”
Margate WI’s local litter campaign was inspired by the original group of Women’s Institute members in 1954 whose call for more to be done to protect the countryside from litter led to a national campaign and the creation of Keep Britain Tidy.
At the end of each session, Margate WI members document their results by taking a photo in the same style as the original photo of those women, in tribute to the campaign started 70 years ago.
A great credit to all involved. The environment is better for these people’s actions.
The photos just go to illustrate how much worse the situation has become in 70 years.
Too many people with too much money buying too many drinks and takeaways – and then having no social or environmental responsibility.
I dread to think what Thanet would look like without the small army of volunteers litter picking regularly.
I passed a don’t drop litter advert at a bus stop recently, looked at the reverse side & it was an advert for a Big Mac, Whopper or something similar-ironic contextual advertising.
correlation isn’t causation, but I’m sure you knew that already.
Indeed, but we do see a lot of junk food packaging on the pavements.
All credit to those who volunteer to regularly pick up litter but those who litter our streets and green spaces will rarely change their ways, they simply do not care, it’s not in their makeup to give it a second thought, you can put up as many signs as you like, have campaigns, try to embarrass them, it’ll have zero effect on them. TDC have not helped with years of neglect of our neighbourhood, not just our council, it’s a theme across the country, neglected area’s just encourage mindless littering.
Someone collected litter blown into my front garden, without my seeing them so many many thanks whoever it was! I am severely disabled, and can’t do this myself! I suspect it was a gentleman with a pronounced foreign accent, who I see occasionally picking up litter along my road, so happy new year whoever you are, and keep up the good work!