Dear residents of Newton Aycliffe,
As a Town Councillor and a member of a dedicated litter-picking team made up of volunteers and councillors, I am saddened by the sheer amount of litter being dumped across our town.
Week after week, our team targets different areas of Newton Aycliffe – including wooded areas, hedgerows, nature walks, housing estates and the town centre. On a typical day, we can collect between 10 and 20 bags of rubbish. The items we find are sadly familiar: plastic drinks bottles, aluminium cans, discarded takeaway cartons, sweet wrappers, children’s toys, clothing, nitrous oxide canisters, shopping trolleys and even stolen bicycles – much of it thrown from passing vehicles into hedgerows and green spaces.
As councillors, we are well aware of concerns around the availability of litter bins in some areas. However, the ongoing challenge is ensuring there is sufficient workforce capacity to empty them regularly. This makes personal responsibility even more important.
I therefore appeal to all residents – including dog walkers, cyclists, walking groups and shoppers – to please think twice before dropping litter. Every household has been provided with bins, and using them properly helps all of us to keep our town clean and tidy.
Newton Aycliffe is a great place to live, and with a little care and consideration, we can all help make it a town we are proud of.
Kind regards,
Cllr John Woodward,
Horndale & Byerley Park.