Piles of rubbish left at Bristol Harbourside over Easter weekend

Some of the rubbish left around Bristol Harbourside on Easter Monday.

People are being reminded to take their litter home with them after a significant amount of rubbish made its way into Bristol Harbour over the Easter weekend.

Pictures taken by ITV News West Country show bottles, cans, cardboard and carrier bags left strewn around the harbourside - with much of it ending up in the water itself.

Bristol City Council has issued a plea for people to take their litter home with them if bins are full.

A spokesperson said: “The city’s waste crews continue to work hard, as they have throughout the pandemic, to keep Bristol clean and accessible for everyone to enjoy. As we start to see warmer weather and more people outdoors we’re reminding everyone to please use the litter bins available or to take their litter home with them if the bins are full."

They told ITV News West Country the council has already "significantly increased" cleaning around the harbourside and city, with crews starting earlier and finishing later while additional temporary bins have also been set up.

Rubbish on the harbourside on the morning of Monday 5 April.

They added: “Along with Bristol Waste we will continue to review the situation to identify where services can be redeployed or improved to address current challenges. 

"We all have a responsibility to look after the city and manage our own waste while enjoying Bristol’s open spaces, so please help our crews and yourselves stay safe by staying 2m apart and taking your litter home. 

“As well as being unsightly and dangerous, dumping waste on our streets is a criminal offence; this includes leaving litter, even if next to a bin. It constitutes fly-tipping and could lead to a prosecution. You can report overflowing litter bins to the council via the website."

It comes less than a week after nice weather combined with the easing of lockdown restrictions saw parks across the West Country turned into dumping grounds for litter.

Bristol Waste has been struggling to deal with the "horrendous" amount of litter left in the city, despite extra bins and street cleaning teams being deployed.

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