Dear Sir,
Our litter picking group is growing from strength to strength and we are now getting noticed from other organisations, one in particular is the CPRE the Countryside charity, who have sent a congratulations to the group that was initially my own initiative, but, with the help of Great Aycliffe Town Council also several Councillors support.
Cllr. Ian Gray, Vice Chair of the Environment Committee.
We now have individuals, that because of other commitments, go out litter picking on their own. As a group we meet as planned, usually in high risk areas and have been in the area around St. Oswald’s Park down to the Woodham Burn and Wolsey Close. We have been in the area for the last three weeks in the hope that we can ‘stop the drop’.
Our countryside is littered with discarded, single-use drinks bottles and cans. Other items that we find are discarded prams and other fly tipped products, these harm wildlife, pollute our waterways and spoil the beauty of nature.
And it’s completely unnecessary.
The CPRE have been calling for a solution for over ten years. A simple system that prevents littering of drinks containers and ensures the recycling rates of over 90%: an all-in Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) [1]
In May 2018, the Government finally committed to putting a DRS in place. But almost three years later, the message seems to have been forgotten.
So now I am joining up to send a message in a bottle, signed by thousands of concerned people directly to the Prime Minister. An all-in DRS would see drinks producers paying for the collection and recycling of all the containers they make and sell. Even big drinks producers like Coca-Cola now agree it’s the answer to our litter problem.
But now the Government has released another worrying consultation. Not only are they delaying the scheme until the end of 2024 at the earliest, but they are also considering a made-up design that will set the system up to fail. Under pressure from big business and trade bodies it is doomed to fail, however, if readers wish to get involved they can contact the CPRE at: campaigns@cpre.org.uk
Vince Crosby
