COMMUNITY minded volunteers have joined forces to bag the rubbish left by litter louts along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Members of the newly formed Stalybridge Canal Clean Up group have already started to make a difference.
Large amounts of bottles, cans, cigarette butts, bags of dog faeces, face masks, even discarded needles are now being cleared from the towpath and other local areas on a regular basis.
The Correspondent is backing the initiative with reporter Trevor Baxter and social media editor Gemma Carter swopping computers for litter pickers to do their own bit towards the group’s excellent start.
Anthony Zazzarino, who lives in the town centre after moving from Carrbrook last year, is one of the Canal Clean-Up founders.
He describes the initial response as “amazing” and hopes more people will pitch in to join the early Spring clean of the area.
“Walking along the canal I noticed there is quite a lot of litter plus the graffiti under the bridges,” he explained.
“So, I thought I would set up a group to see if people in the area were of the same opinion.
“I wasn’t sure what would happen and if anything would come of it. But loads of people have been out already collecting loads of bin bags.
“And because they live in different bits of the area it works quite well.”
Due to lockdown, there is currently no group activity to blitz the waste.
“It is just individuals going out in their own time but these individuals have made massive difference,” added Anthony, an accounts manager.
“Hopefully the momentum continues, and people start to respect it a bit more.
“Face masks seem to be the trend at the moment. Why do people dispose of the masks in that way?”
Bags of rubbish can be taken to the Bayley Street recycling centre; others are going into wheelie bins.
“Putting it in the bin could be a struggle with Tameside Council considering changing to three weekly collections,” added Anthony.
“Hopefully, they could step up a bit and provide the community with the help we need.”
A spokesperson for Tameside Council said: “We do support community litter picks and liaise with the organisers to arrange collection of the rubbish.
“We are aware Stalybridge Town Team do regular litter picks along the canal and around the town centre and they do liaise with Tesco. They also work closely with the Canal & River Trust (CART).
“We can work with the new group and, in this case, it will need to be done in conjunction with CART.
“The graffiti on the towpath bridge will be the responsibility of CART to remove. It’s difficult during Covid restrictions to organise regular litter pick events but this will hopefully become easier in the coming months.
“In the meantime, anyone who would like advice and support with equipment etc can email EnvironmentalOps@tameside.gov.uk”
• The Correspondent has also reported another section of the canal between Guide Bridge and Ashton which is covered with an apparent oil slick.
A spokesperson for Canal and River Trust said: “I am saddened to see pollution in one of our waterways.
“I’ve passed this reporting onto the area operations team and made our environmental scientist aware also.”
The amount of rubbish being removed is unbelievable, not just odd bags but up to ten at a time in some areas. Local residents are joining the group and tackling around their own areas hoping to make a difference . I myself and two or three residents around Copley have been targeting grass verges around Copley school and Huddersfield Rd. We just need to get the message home to take it home or bin it. Well Done to all
We’ll said Carol
As Carol said the amount is startling, the group has shifted over 300 black bags now in 4 weeks. As well as the canal activities and town centre cleans, as Anthony says we have been doing our own areas also. We do a sweep of Darnton Road and Ash Grove and Stamford grove, and the litter has trebled in the last week, unfortunately this is the area around West Hill. So come on guys at West Hill help us out.
My Partner and I volunteered to do this once a week also, inspired my Liz owner of Magpies Nest Ltd, who with her staff do this every week to try and make a cosmetic difference to the surrounding area.
Amazed what you come across. Last week picked up an abundance of face masks discarded.