WINGHAM LITTER ACTION WEEK SUCCESS!

Monday 8th September - Saturday 13 September 2025

Friday 5 September 2025 (Edited 15 September)

From tipping litter over a teacher at the start of the week to picking it up from the school and elsewhere in the village, the Action Week has been a HUGE success 💚
3 bags of litter were collected on Monday by 14 school children in and around the school, and 12 bags were collected by 19 volunteers on Saturday from around the village which, considering it was pouring with rain, was a great effort☔
Enforcement officers patrolled the village each day and checked previously reported problem areas such as bus stops and benches and cleared litter / cigarette butts where found 🚬
We also hope that our posters and social media posts have helped to raise awareness of litter and reporting 🚮

WE CARE - AND WE THINK YOU DO TOO! Following the success of our April community litter pick, Wingham Parish Council has teamed up with Dover District Council (DDC) to raise awareness about litter in Wingham. The action week starts next Monday 8th September so please keep an eye out for our posts and updates throughout the week.

Today, Friday 5th September, DDC officers have put up various posters across the village:-

A ballot bin has also been put up in School Lane - those who smoke can vote with their cigarette butt:-

WINGHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL TALK PHOTOS

Many thanks to headteacher Mrs Douglas for allowing AJ and Jack to throw rubbish over her!

HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BIN THEIR BUTTS?

cigarette butts left in School Lane

🚬Many don't realise that dropping a cigarette butt is still littering

🚬Discarded cigarette butts can take years to decompose and are harmful to wildlife

🚬The Anchor Inn has been provided with a small cigarette bin and a temporary cigarette ballot bin has been installed in School Lane to encourage people to bin their cigarette butts.

Monday 8 September 2025: Today we launch our joint litter awareness campaign with Dover District Council to reduce the amount of litter in Wingham village.

Here's what we're doing and how you can get involved:-

  • 💚While you're out and about, look out for new campaign signage in the village;
  • 🗳️Use the cigarette ballot bin that doubles up as a survey! Find this in School Lane;
  • ⚓Join us for our litter pick on Saturday 13 September, 10-12, starting from The Anchor Inn;
  • 🚮Find a bin or take your litter home with you
Community litter pick April 2025
New cigarette bin outside The Anchor

Do you know how long it takes for different types of litter to biodegrade? According to Keep Britain Tidy, the estimated timespan is:

  • Paper bags - up to one month
  • Orange peel/banana skin/apple cores - up to 2 years
  • cigarette butts - up to 12 years
  • plastic bags - 10 - 20 years
  • plastic bottles - up to 450 years
  • chewing gum and glass bottles - not biodegradable

To find out more, please see www.dover.gov.uk/litter

REPORTING LITTER

Did you know you can report litter directly to Dover District Council for clearance? We can all do our bit to keep Wingham looking beautiful, so please report it as follows:-

To request litter clearance, please contact DDC's Waste Services Team:

🗑️Visit https://collections.dover.gov.uk/street

🗑️Telephone 01304 872428

COME ALONG TO OUR COMMUNITY LITTER PICK ON SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER, 10am to 12noon, starting at The Anchor Inn. You can also organise your own litter pick, including the loaning of equipment, at any time by visiting www.dover.gov.uk/communitycleanup

When the community comes together, we really do make a difference! 35 volunteers collected 30 bags of litter at our litter pick in April as part of the Great British Spring Clean.

CAN WE BEAT THIS AT OUR COMMUNITY LITTER PICK ON SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER?

We look forward to welcoming all who can spare half an hour or so to join us - we'll be there come rain or shine - please just turn up by 10am at The Anchor Inn.

This will be the perfect round up to our campaign week where we'll be joined by the DDC team and Community Roots Van where there will be fun litter-based games for our younger residents too.

DON'T BE THE FEW WHO SPOIL THE VIEW

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE OR HERE FOR THE DDC VIDEO LINK ON YOU TUBE

The registered keeper of a vehicle is responsible for any litter being dropped, no matter who dropped it.

DDC's Environmental Crime team can now issue civil penalties to registered keepers of vehicles who have had litter thrown from them. You could be given a £75 fine on the spot.

The beSt thing to do is give your litter a lift home!🚗🚗🚗

COMMUNITY LITTER PICK SEPTEMBER 2025 PICTURES

Collecting equipment from the DDC Community Roots Van
Volunteers braved the weather to keep our village clean and tidy
The DDC Team with the 12 bags collected by our amazing volunteers

#winghamlitteractionweek #wecare

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