Rural roads of Mid Ulster still suffering from littering blight

AN environmental volunteer from Mid Ulster has urged more local people to step forward and help protect their local area, as litter continues to blight the countryside.

Last week, the Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, charity released its annual Cleaner Neighbourhoods report, which shows that while the overall picture of the streets and roads has slightly improved after a worrying spike during the lockdowns of 2020, drinks packaging, including plastic bottles and disposable coffee cups, continues to be a major problem, with rural roads being disproportionately affected.

Vicky Seviour-Crockett, who is an ‘Adopt a Spot Volunteer’ in the Mid Ulster area said, “Volunteering to keep my local area clean and safe is a great pleasure of mine and it is very rewarding to see the impact that it is making throughout the local community.

“I would like to encourage everyone in the community to come together to look after our environment and keep our neighbourhoods clean.”

The findings from this year’s survey took a close analysis of litter related to food packaging, particularly drinks, with plastic bottle, hot drinks cups, lids and straws found in 50 per-cent of the areas surveyed. Most surprisingly, 90 per-cent of rural roads featured littered drinks packaging and cigarette butts remained the top item of litter found in NI, with 65 per-cent of all areas surveyed having some form of cigarette litter present.

Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, said, “With the environment once again on the top of the agenda as COP27 is underway, we are reminded that action is required globally and here in Northern Ireland.

“The amount of litter we are now having to deal with is extremely concerning – it’s not only unsightly but it has a real impact on council budgets, wasting money that could be spent on other public services and helping deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

“There’s no evidence to suggest that human nature has fundamentally changed over the past number of decades, but what has changed is the amount of plastic packaging being produced, which has grown exponentially over the past 15 years, which is why it’s misleading to lay the problem entirely at the feet of the public. We need to have an honest conversation about this issue and that is why manufacturers and retailers need to step up and take their share of the cost of cleaning up the mess on our streets.”

Although the report reflects the army of litter-picking volunteers across Mid Ulster doing their best to keep our streets free from litter and a safe place for the public to come together, the charity CEO believes that more needs to be done to try and stop litter at the source.

For more information and to read the full Cleaner Neighbourhoods report visit: Cleaner Neighbourhoods Report (keepnorthernirelandbeautiful.org)