TWO councillors picked litter out of the river at King George V Park (KGV) recently, in an effort to keep the town tidy.
Melksham’s deputy mayor, cllr Sue Mortimer, and cllr Louisa Lewis, pulled litter out of the river after noticing a build-up of litter following the recent floods.
Upon reporting the litter to Wiltshire Council and waiting for the litter to be collected, they took matters into their own hands and borrowed a litter picker from the town council, along with some waders to pull it out of the water themselves.
Cllr Sue Mortimer said, “Recent flooding of Clackers Brook washed quite a lot of debris downstream that came to a standstill under the pooh stick bridge at the end of Union Street path cut-through to KGV.
“Dropping litter is really a lose/lose situation for our town and our world. Litter causes pollution in the soil and our waters, which negatively impacts on both human and animal lives; it also kills wildlife and plastic litter is the most common killer of animals and marine life; litter enables the spread of diseases, viruses and parasites by both direct and indirect contact and it is quite depressing to look at. Having no litter can improve our health and wellbeing.
“Additionally, litter is costly in monetary terms as well. Thousands upon thousands of pounds of tax payers’ money is budgeted every year to enable Melksham Town Council to deal with litter clearance.
“I know many do already, but if everyone used the bins or took their litter home, monies could be used on other projects for our town.”
