Volunteers form new litter picking group in Howley

A new litter team has formed in Howley, with members taking part in the group’s first outing earlier this month.

Organisers James Witty, Julie Campbell and Hannah Austin leafleted 200 local houses, put posters in local businesses and wrote in the St Elphin’s Primary School newsletter to raise volunteers.

This led to 15 people braving high winds and rain to collect an impressive 71 bags of litter.

Dedicated volunteers of new litter pick group collect 71 bags of rubbish in first outing

“The first litter pick was a huge step,” said Tony Dixon, on behalf of the Howley Litter Network group.

“We wanted to develop a local resident litter team to tackle the historic litter problem and keep Howley and Fairfield looking its best.

“With such a great turn out and a haul of 71 bags on the first pick, we have proved an important point to ourselves. It looks like this group is here to stay.”

Grouped into three teams, they completed a circuit around the St Elphin’s area, finishing up with homemade tomato soup provided by kind volunteers at St Elphin’s Park Café.

Dedicated volunteers of new litter pick group collect 71 bags of rubbish in first outing

The Howley team is organised within the existing Fairfield and Howley litter network, with information about how you can get involved available via litternetworks.org

Once regular Howley picks are established, the group hopes to extend the process to include a local Fairfield team.

Another Howley litter pick is already arranged for Sunday morning, February 20, and if you would like to be involved, message the organisers via the Fairfield and Howley Litter Network Facebook page.

More local litter picks will follow, and more volunteers are going to be needed from both Howley and Fairfield to continue and expand the process.