Teams of litter pickers to hit streets of Rossendale (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Teams of litter pickers to hit streets of Rossendale

7:30pm Sunday 14th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(4)

A BLITZ on litter in Rossendale will be carried out by an army of council office workers and councillors.

More than 70 council administrative staff and 30 councillors will descend on the borough’s three major towns to collect the piles of litter which were left after the snow and ice earlier this year.

Residents have been encouraged to flag up any problem areas before Thursday’s operation.

Coun Peter Steen, environment portfolio holder, said: “The Big Litter Pick is a fantastic idea and has my full support.

“The amount of litter following the snow and ice earlier this year seems to have piled up and we need to get as many people out onto the streets to make a noticeable impact.

“It will be great to see the council operating as one big team, with councillors and council staff rolling their sleeves up to deal with this one-off problem.”

Refuse collections across the borough suffered substantial delays in January due to the freezing conditions which prevented bin wagons entering streets.

Though this week’s litter pick will focus on the major areas of Rawtenstall, Haslingden and Bacup, the council is planning more events for smaller communities in the borough.

Residents on the Hall Carr estate in Rawtenstall have been encouraged to support a community day which will be held on April 15.

Coun Steen added: “Our staff have already shown that they are prepared to be flexible when they helped to tackle the backlog of refuse collection during January.

“I hope that as many council staff and councillors as possible will help out.”

To suggest an area for the litter pick contact the operations team on 01706 878660 or email pride@rossendalebc.gov.uk