Volunteers fill 13 bags of rubbish in village litter pick

ABOUT a dozen people attended a litter pick in Charvil.

Volunteers met by Milestone Avenue at 10am on Sunday to clear up litter in and around the Bath Road roundabout and petrol station.

Using litter picks and plastic bags, residents cleared the verges, ditches and side streets around the busy road.

In total volunteers managed to fill 13 bags. The most common finds included single-use plastics, coffee cups, food wrappers and drinks cans.

The litter pick was organised by Wokingham borough councillor Sam Akhtar and his partner Tasmin Morgan, who set up the Charvil Matters volunteer group in 2019.

As well as litter picks the pair have led other activities such as hedge trimming and graffiti clearance. Cllr Akhtar, who lives in Sonning, said that litter picking was an easy way to help improve the local environment.

He said: “Me and my other half have always been into litter picking and environmentalism in a big way and we always think about how can we help on a local level.

“Actually, we found that litter picking is a really straightforward way to have an immediate impact and it gets us a bit of exercise and it gets people out and about.

“All the people that who come to volunteer have always said that they feel great afterwards so it actually doubles up as doing something for the environment and helping the area where you live look nice as well as a great wellbeing exersise so it’s a win-win.”

Over the years the litter pick has been running Cllr Akhtar said that some of the more interesting finds had included kitchen knives, computer chairs and a keyboard.

Ms Morgan said: “People like having a chat but they also like going for a walk and doing a bit of exercise and getting some fresh air. We have a nice community of regulars who come each time.”

Neil Hutton, who lives in Charvil, regularly attends the litter picks. He said: “Some people will just throw stuff out of their car. Most people would consider that to be socially unacceptable but a small minority of people don’t and they contribute to the vast majority of litter.

“People always talk about the environment and the environment starts at your front door. It’s not just the Amazon rainforest, it’s not some obscure thing, it’s right here.

“When you come out and you see all these single-use plastics strewn all over the road, that is what we are talking about when we talk about microplastics in the environment.” Former teachers Sarah and Graham Swatridge, were cleaning the area around the petrol station.

Mr Swatridge said: “This area is often very bad and we have quite a bit to do. I think people seem to park up and then chuck it out of the window instead of walking over and putting it in the bin.”

Tony Lehain, 86, said among the litter, which included cigarette packages and a car bumper, he had found an unbroken ceramic mug.

During a litter pick last autumn, Mr Lehain, who is a former politics and economics teacher, said he had even found a £10 note while searching the central reservation in Bath Road.

Mr Lehain, of Park Lane, said: “We do get some interesting things and it’s good to keep Charvil clean.” The next litter pick will be on Sunday, February 2 in Sonning.