Milton Keynes charity pleads with park-users to stop littering and to help keep green spaces enjoyable for everyone
Milton Keynes-based charity The Parks Trust is asking park users to clear up their rubbish after having to collect over 800 bags of littler from across their parks this week alone.
Access to parks has been more important than ever during the coronavirus outbreak. The Parks Trust say they've been working hard to keep their parks safe and protect the green spaces of Milton Keynes so that everyone can enjoy them.
However, as lockdown regulations ease and more people are spending time outside, they've seen a large increase in people dropping and leaving litter.
The charity is completely self-financed, meaning they don't receive money from local or central government, and this is causing a huge financial strain on them. Collecting litter costs them £350,000 a year.
They've particularly noticed more people 'considerately littering' by leaving their rubbish next to or on top of overflowing bins. The charity wants to stress, however, that this is still littering.
Video credit: The Park's Trust
The charity also says that leaving rubbish lying around or trying to force it into a full bin can seriously effect the surrounding wildlife.
Penalties will be used for those caught littering. Ten investigations were carried out last month alone, with the appropriate fixed penalties handed out.
Other areas in our region are also seeing an increase in littering. Braintree District Council in Essex is also pleading with people to take their rubbish home now that they're allowed to spend more time outside. They posted this video of litter strewn across one of its parks this week to try and get the message across.