Durham Volunteers Collect 50 Bags of Rubbish from River Wear

While environmental volunteers often measure success in pounds of debris pulled from local waterways, recent developments in South Wales and North East England highlight how administrative rules and community grit can collide in unexpected ways.

Durham Volunteers Approach Milestone on the River Wear

Along the River Wear, the Durham City Riverscape Community reached a notable milestone during their latest outing by hauling more than 50 bags of rubbish from the water. Formed just before the coronavirus pandemic, the group organizes monthly clean-ups to protect local riverbanks. The group estimated it had collected tonnes of waste from the water since the start. Lead volunteer Graham Hollingwood noted that the team is now closing in on a total of 1,000 collected bags.

Hollingwood said the group was approaching the 1,000 bag milestone which just shows how much work goes into protecting our riverbanks and highlighted the phenomenal efforts of volunteers.

The collective has tackled substantial items since its inception, including a large fridge earlier this year. He said pulling the full sized fridge freezer out of the river was their biggest challenge to date but the team proved equal to it.

Newport Clean-Up Delayed Over Council Waste Bag Mandates

Conversely, volunteers operating in the Pill docklands area of Newport, South Wales, have hit an administrative roadblock. Volunteers in the Pill docklands area of Newport, South Wales, have collected litter strewn around the city’s streets for years. However, they say now they have been blocked by “petty” council orders which specify they should use Keep Wales Tidy bags for their collections. Pride in Pill, a group that has cleared street litter for years, postponed an upcoming clean-up after being told their chosen red bin bags did not comply with local authority guidelines. They say they failed to get a response when they asked for the bags, and have therefore been forced to put their next clean-up on hold.

Paul Murphy, founder of Pride in Pill, explained that the group had previously switched from black bags to red ones at the council’s request. He said: The council asked me years ago not to use black bags and to use red bags. So for the last couple of years I’ve been using red bags. Having recently purchased more than 2,000 red bags, Murphy was informed they must specifically be official bags issued by Keep Wales Tidy. Pride in Pill were told by the council that their red bin bags were not the proper ones.

“I’ve just bought more than 2,000 red bags and now they’re saying I can’t use them because they’re not the proper ones. They’re not red bags from Keep Wales Tidy.”

Paul Murphy, founder of Pride in Pill

Mr Murphy said he explained to the council that they had been using the same bags “for years and years” with no issues. He said: Now they’re telling me they’re not the proper ones because I need to get them from Keep Wales Tidy. So, I’ve been trying to get them from Keep Wales Tidy for the last week, but I’ve had no response. He added: I’ve also asked the council for a number for Keep Wales Tidy and they haven’t got one. Murphy stated that he spent a week attempting to secure the approved bags and contact a designated engagement support officer without receiving a response, adding that the local council could not provide a contact number for Keep Wales Tidy.

Dispute Over Supply Limits and Fly-Tipping Controls

He fears this change could limit how much litter they can collect during future events if bag supplies are restricted. Organizers worry that strictly regulating the distribution of official bags will cap the volume of waste volunteers can remove during future events. Mr Murphy stated: where I do a litter pick and collect 30 or 40 bags, if Keep Wales Tidy only gives me 20 bags, then I can only do 20 bags of rubbish. So, I’ve got a funny feeling they’re going to cut me down from doing a litter pick of 40-odd bags to about 20 bags. But at the moment I can’t do a litter pick until I get hold of Keep Wales Tidy because I’m not guaranteed Newport city council will pick those bags up. Some residents have described the situation as “petty” and called on the authority to focus on more pressing issues. Pride in Pill said it had spent a week trying to contact Keep Wales Tidy and the designated engagement support officer but had received no response.

A group spokesman said: We’ve phoned all the available numbers and left several messages, but unfortunately we’ve had no response. We’re keen to get our community clean-up organised and don’t want to delay helping keep our area tidy.

A Newport City Council spokesperson defended the policy, noting that more than 150 community clean-ups have registered with the authority since 2022. The council spokesman stated: More than 150 community clean-ups have registered with the authority since 2022, with thousands of bags of rubbish collected across the city.

“The use of approved Keep Wales Tidy bags helps distinguish waste collected by community groups from fly-tipped material at disposal sites. Guidance about how to obtain the official bags – including through litter-picking hubs – is available online.”

Council spokesperson, Newport City Council

Despite the frustration, Pride in Pill indicated they intend to proceed with their scheduled community efforts using their existing stock of red bags if communication from support organizations does not arrive soon. A group spokesman stated: If we don’t receive a reply soon, we’ll go ahead and use the red bags we already have so the litter pick can still take place. We hope to hear back soon, but our volunteers are ready to continue making a difference for our community.