A survey by The Parks Trust has revealed that nearly five tonnes of litter was left in the city’s parkland in one week this summer.
That equates to 817 bags of rubbish, with Willen Lake generating the most; 492.5 bags and 2.49 tonnes.
Rob Riekie, landscape and operations director for The Parks Trust, said: “While we are pleased that so many people have enjoyed time out in the parks this summer, the huge amount of litter left behind has been very disappointing.
“A lot of park users may not realise that we are a self-financing charity and don’t receive any funding from local or central government. Clearing up rubbish costs us approximately £350,000 a year and this is money that we then cannot spend on new facilities or activities for everyone to enjoy.”
Rob added: “People often ask why we don’t install more litter bins but installing these would actually increase our litter costs. In addition to the purchase and servicing of the bins (we would need hundreds of extra bins to adequately cover the 6,000 acres of open space we manage) we would then be collecting huge amounts of extra litter from the majority of people who, when not finding a bin, take their litter home. In keeping with best practice as advised by Keep Britain Tidy, we tend to install bins in hot-spots, such as our car parks and Willen Lake South.
“The Parks Trust continues to explore new ways to reduce litter dropping, but we can all work together to make a real difference. We’d ask anyone visiting our parks to take their litter home and dispose of it there – this will keep all the green spaces in Milton Keynes beautiful and inspiring for all to enjoy long into the future.”
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