Story: Muneebah Waheed | Photos: Sheffield City Council
As regular readers of the Messenger will know, there has been an ongoing problem of litter in Page Hall. Concerns have been addressed to the Council, asking when something will be done to tackle the issue.
The Council responded by launching a week of action to ‘educate, involve and support the local community’ on the issue of litter. Local residents and various community groups were invited to clean and collect rubbish from the streets of Page Hall. Information packs explaining appropriate methods of recycling and disposing of household waste were distributed amongst local residents.
Dean Fearon from Sheffield City Council spoke to the Messenger about the week of action, saying:
“We visited 600 properties with information about what to do with your rubbish and, working with the community, we collected more than 60 tonnes of bulky waste. More than 100 members of all parts of the community have helped with litter picking and cleaning the streets.”
As part of the preparation, local schools were also visited to educate young people about the importance of recycling and keeping the streets clean.
However, some local residents are worried the litter will return if not monitored closely by the Council. A local resident told us:
“It looks much better now as they have done a good job this time, but let’s hope it lasts.”
Other residents feel that a long term solution is needed and that the Council should continue their educational activities.
At the end of the week nearly 100 local residents signed a pledge at the Pakistani Advice Centre (PACA) to become involved in regular litter picks and other projects to keep the local community clean. Miroslav Sandor, from PACA, said:
“It’s been amazing. I'm glad to be working with Amey and the Council on this. All the community have been involved and we are going to keep working on this issue.”
David Blunkett MP also commented, saying:
“Congratulations for the enormous achievement and for the work and leadership in making this week happen. Thank you to the workforce of the Council, Amey and Veolia for collecting all the rubbish. It's about the community working together, caring about the area and making a fit place to live and for children to play.”