Anger at piles of rubbish on The Downs in Bristol that ends up in landfill

  • A video shot by an angry walker who came across this pile of rubbish on The Downs

Drastic action is needed to handle the amount of rubbish being left on The Downs in Bristol, according to the city council.

The Bristol City Council team whose job it is to clean up Bristol's parks says it is becoming "disillusioned" with the situation.

All the rubbish collected ends up in landfill but Ben Skuse, from the parks department, is suggesting removing all rubbish bins from The Downs and replacing them with large recycling stations.

The Downs Committee rejected proposals by the council to remove all 36 bins from the Downs

Mr Skuse said: “Something needs to change. The quantities are just vast. The quantities are just going through the roof. I’m not sure how many bins would be enough to cope with this." 

Following a meeting this week, the Downs Committee has decided to wait and see what happens after lockdown before taking any extreme form of action.

One committee member said he was “aghast” to learn all the rubbish from Bristol’s parks ends up as landfill.

Conservative councillor Geoff Gollop said: “I naively assumed it was somehow sorted and recycled. The thought that it’s not is very disturbing.”

The Downs in Bristol is a hugely popular open space that has been enjoyed by people for centuries - but is it now being ruined by rubbish? Credit: Google Maps

But Green councillor Carla Denyer said it was dangerous for Bristol Waste workers to sift through general rubbish to pick out items for recycling.

She said she had asked for recycling bins to be introduced to The Downs several times without success.

And Green councillor Paula O’Rourke called for a campaign to encourage people to take their litter home with them.