VOLUNTEERS braved the cold and waded through flood waters earlier this month for the final Town Tidy event of 2020.
Organised by local group, South West in Bloom – Melksham, this month’s Town Tidy highlighted the ongoing problem of people drinking alcohol in public areas and not disposing their waste responsibly.
Organisers have also raised concerns about shoplifting in the area, with a number of security tags and empty bottles of alcohol collected in a number of areas.
“Massive thanks to everybody who turned out,” reports vice chair of South West in Bloom – Melksham, Linda De Santiz. “An enormous amount of rubbish was collected.
“I went along Riverside Walk with Christine, somewhat flooded, but we managed to collect four full bags of bottles and cans in the undergrowth or floating in the water (recycled at Sainsbury’s), one bag of clothing, and in St Michael’s churchyard a bag of bottles and cans thrown between the graves – so disrespectful.
“Also along the Riverside Walk, masses of security tags from bottles of alcohol and other items. Surely security needs to be checked or upgraded? And by these security tags loads of empties, such as rum, just chucked in undergrowth or on the riverbank. This pattern also followed in town. How on earth do we tackle this problem?”
