Praise for Local Litter Heroes Barbara and Gill


Two women doing their bit to keep Chiswick tidy

Barbara and Gill picking litter on Upham Park Road
Barbara and Gill picking litter on Upham Park Road

A pair of local litter heroes have been praised for their efforts to help keep their road in Chiswick clean.

Keep Britain Tidy is currently running a national campaign to clean up the local environment and Barbara and Gill are doing their bit.

They regularly join litter picks on Upham Park Road despite Barbara only having 5% vision and carrying a white stick and Gill using a walking frame. They have formed a team with Gill as the 'eyes' and Barbara as the 'legs'.

Litter picking co-ordinator, Joanna Woods says they do a fantastic job and adds, “For the past two years we have been running a volunteer litter picking rota on our street with sticks, gloves and bags supplied by Hounslow Highways. We now have nearly 20 volunteers who do a couple of short stints a year. And it really makes a difference, not least because the sight of a volunteer litter picker makes passers-by think twice before chucking down their half-eaten meals from Kentucky Fried. In an unexpected spin-off, it has also created goodwill and friendship between people on the street.”

Keep Britain Tidy had planned the Great British Spring Clean earlier this year with 680,000 volunteers pledged to take part but due to the pandemic the initiative had to be cancelled.

They have now organised the Great British September Clean and are urging people to organise a private clean-up with up to five other family and friends or if you pledge to do your own individual clean-up, you can give as little as 15 minutes to the campaign.

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September 23, 2020