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Press Release
Issued by Deborah Girvan, Alliance Councillor for Ards West
30 April 2012
Comber Clean Up Success
The Comber Clean Up which took place on Saturday 28 April 2012 as part of Tidy NI’s Big Spring Clean was a great success according to local Alliance Councillor Deborah Girvan who organised the event.
She explained, “I was delighted that 30 people turned up including six members from the Inler Angling Club. 120 big black bio-degradable plastic bags were filled in one and a half hours of litter picking. The majority of items picked up in the car parks, grass verges, under hedges and in private property areas were plastic bags, bottles, cans, tins, sweet wrappers, fast food containers, chip papers and empty cigarette packets which had either been throw out of car windows or dumped by people walking along the footpaths. Larger items included a fire extinguisher and the base of a bed.”
The Comber River and its banks were cleaned from the Killinchy Road roundabout to the back of Comber Leisure Centre. A spokesperson for the Inler Angling Club said, “The last time our club members cleaned the same stretch of the river was in February of this year. It is a sad reflection on the people of Comber that such a large quantity of rubbish was removed in such a short space of time. Items included a shopping trolley, a bicycle, two children’s scooters, a deep fat fryer, a metal sauce pan, footballs, and an oil drum.”
All the rubbish was brought to The Square in Comber and dumped in a pile so that everyone could see the amount of rubbish that was collected. After photographs were taken, Ards Borough Council staff picked up the rubbish bags and took them to the local amenity centre. Councillor Girvan added, “I would like to thank all the volunteers who took part in the Comber Clean Up. It was a tremendous effort and hopefully people in Comber will think twice about dropping litter and polluting our river and town. I would also like to thank Ards Borough Council and Tidy NI for their support and supplying litter pickers, gloves and bags.”
Ends
For further information please contact Deborah Girvan on 07870 173 805.
Notes to Editor
1.According to Tidy NI, £39 million is spent every year by Northern Ireland’s district councils in cleaning the
2.Ards Borough Council’s estimated spend on street cleaning for 2012/13 is £1,020,588 (5.6%) of its totalCombined with waste collections (emptying bins) £2,456,167 and disposing of waste through recycling and land fill, £3,346,556, a total of £6,823,311 (37.4%) of its budget is spent annually keeping the Borough free from litter and waste.
3.A £50 fine is issued to anyone who is caught by Borough Inspectors for dropping litter, throwing cigarette butts out of car windows and allowing their dogs to foul on the streets and roads.
Comber Spring Clean April 2013
What a fantastic Litter Pick on Saturday and the weather was perfect!
An estimated 130 bags of rubbish were picked up by 11 teams of 4/5 members. Roy Murray spent another hour after the litter pick finished and picked up another 30 or more bags!
