Positively Speaking - for people who are proud to live in Warsop and would like to iron out its little creases!
Current
Topic being discussed New
on 15 January 03
What
can we do to stop our streets and public places being fouled by dog dirt?
10 Jan 03 - Andrew Hawkins - It's one thing being able to voice your opinion but far better to act upon it. I don't mean taking the law into your own hands... I thought if enough people were interested, clean up campaigns could be organised with some idea as to how many people would attend. For example the river Meden......just about everyone who drives through Warsop sees the Carrs and the Mill Dam. Think of Warsop and you conjure up images of either the Church the High Street or the Mill Dam, yet dog mess and rubbish are strewn along it's bank.
I am a
dog owner a responsible one who cleans up after them, and the amount of people
who don't, infuriates me. Personally I think there are not enough bins. The
ones that are in place are overflowing some days. Through the web site and
the newspaper, attention could be drawn to these problems and the council
should recognise it and do something about it. Use this as a collective voice,
pass on certain information to the appropriate parties for them to comment
on, and then publish this on the web site and in the paper.
This is
the worst form of littering (alongside people who insist on spitting on the
pavement) I wheeled through some the other day with my pushchair and it made
me sick. No wonder diseases like Tuberculosis are on the increase.
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What
can be done about the increasing amount of litter in the streets of Warsop?
This
topic is still open to discussion and your views are very welcome. Anyone
wishing to become a member of a support group or action committee to deal
with this issue, please contact carol.hill@btinternet.com
From February 2003 Warsop & District News - The 64,000 dollar question – what do we do? The point about shopkeepers (and householders) ensuring their fronts are litter free would be an ideal start. Certainly the shopping area would see a vast improvement if this were to happen.
There is another larger bin provided by funding from the Area Assembly outside the Co-op. It needed emptying today (20th Jan), but observing it previously there was room in it for litter – the trouble being that litter was around it when it should have been in it! And lets not let the kids off lightly! One of the most heavily littered areas in Warsop is – guess where? – Outside the Meden School! So what do we do?
Edwinstowe employ their own team of cleaners and, admitting it is a much smaller area than Warsop, why don’t we? Employ half a dozen persons on a part-time basis, designate one as a co-ordinator and the team could get the town centre right and then spread out to the other parts of the Parish.
Negotiation would need to take place between the District and Parish Councils to make necessary arrangements and apportion the cost. We can all write letters giving our opinions (yes me too) but there comes a time when we should stop talking and start acting – I think that time has arrived! - Brian Smith
26
January 2003 -
From Charles McLoughlin: E.mail: Cmcl@btinternet.com
I have read the letters about litter and I share the concerns expressed about
what is becoming more and more of a problem in our community. I think that
much could be achieved by voluntary action. If about 20 people, for example,
each give only one hour a week to picking up litter, it will make a difference.
Litter encourages more litter. Tidier streets and car parks, etc., will lead
others to think that there are people who care about their environment and,
hopefully, discourage them from throwing their rubbish into the street. Such
voluntary action will not take much organising. We just need to get people
together initially to agree on the areas to be covered, and then individuals
can get on with the job when it suits them.
If you are interested in being part of such a voluntary group please send
a message to "Positively Speaking" on the Warsop Web, or e.mail
me Charles
McLaughlin
Come on folks, Join the Litter Police, let's see some Positive action for our town! As Charles say's, if 20 people give 1 hour per week the job could be done, and if 40 people give only half an hour, we could do just the same! Perhaps we could recruit a member of staff and a pupil or two from each school as well, then we may be able to educate the younger generation to produce less litter in future - Ed.
9 December 2002
- From
David Fenton: E.mail dave.fenton@btinternet.com
PS - My son, who travels a great deal as part of his job is of the opinion
that Warsop and Mansfield are two of the most disfigured places in the North
of England by reason of the amount of litter which is thrown down carelessly.
My wife and I decided a year or so ago to go on a litter-picking morning when
volunteers were asked for to help clear a section of Warsop. Five people turned
up. As I commented at the time 5 people picked it up after 15,000 people had
thrown it down. The situation since then has got worse. Goodness knows what
strangers to Warsop think of us on walking through the litter -strewn streets
and past the boarded up shops which are also such an eyesore.
Why
not, through the Warsop News and this site, have a concerted effort to try
to make the people of Warsop more litter conscious. Youngsters are among the
main culprits although they are not set a very good example by the adults.
I would imagine that a start could be made by asking every householder to
make sure that the front of his or her premises are litter free. I often wonder
why shopkeepers don't do this as a matter of course. Their discarded packaging
is what one sees most of scattered about. I would have thought it would be
in their own interests to make their own frontages were clean and tidy so
as to make each shop a welcoming place to enter. This would at least ensure
that the centre of Warsop was kept in an acceptable state. It might also persuade
youngsters and others to dispose of their rubbish in more appropriate places
than the roads or pavements when they can see that their rubbish is the being
thrown into clear streets.
This would leave those parish or council employees whose job it is to try
to keep pace with the litter problem to concentrate on the gardens, car parks
and boarded-up shop fronts.
I like Warsop. I was born here but I have become very embarrassed of late
with the state of the place. I know other people feel the same. What is needed
however is a campaign to try to make everybody aware of how bad it looks to
be knee-deep in rubbish. We need a vigorous campaign to change ingrained habits
so that Warsop can once again be the sort of place that is a pleasure to walk
and shop in and I look to you and other organisations to lead such a campaign
to this end. - David Fenton
10 December 2002 -
From Andrew:
PS
- Well said David. Has anyone else noticed that the bin outside the co-op
seems to be inadaquate as at school dinner times it always seems to be overflowing
with rubbish. As this seems to be a hive of activity at dinner times and with
the amount of till receipts directly outside the shop surely the answer would
be to provide another bin. The co-op have a responsibility and it seems to
be where most of the rubbish in that area comes from. I know that they (the
co-op) do not throw it down but a bin on the right hand side of the premises
would be an advantage.
The problem is not just confined to the High Street, and in some way effects us all, I know kids are not the only culprits. A thousand bins are useless if folks aren't taught the importance of a clean environment. The skatepark so many of the younger generation wanted is also a problem area, broken glass being a major problem, Remember Kids you could fall and do serious damage to yourselves. Think about it! - Andrew
I would urge Primary Schools in the area to raise awareness of this issue and make our children litter conscious. I was taught as a young child not to drop litter and grew up with the slogan 'Take your litter home' which has stuck with me all my life. I always have pockets full of sweet wrappers, till receipts and other bits of rubbish! We need to teach children whilst they're young.
We all need educating on how to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce by utilising the three R's, Refusing - over packaged goods, Re-using - packaging and Recycling waste items. Over the festive period the amount of rubbish we produce increases dramatically and it costs us, the tax payer, £ millions to dispose of all the pretty packaging we've paid a fortune for! Is that doubly wasteful or what? There are seven landfill sites in Nottinghamshire and they are fast filling up! Will the next one be in Warsop? An unpleasant thought, but why should someone else put up with our waste? How many of us will overflow our great big wheelie bins this Christmas?
I challenge everyone to produce no more rubbish than their bin can hold this Christmas! Even if it is a two week period! You could start by composting the carrot peelings and outer sprout leaves - I often spread these around my shrub border to decompose or be eaten by wildlife. Remember also that some wrapping paper can be composted, not the foiled or plasticised type. Do you have any R tips to share? - Carol Hill
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What
can we do to stop our streets and public places being fouled by dog dirt?
To
suggest a New Topic please fill in this form. >>>>
Please only use this if you can be positive
by offering a solution to a problem or you want to support a cause. If you
just want to sound off about something do this on the letters
page>>
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