Richmond residents have been told to take their litter home with them if the bin is full when they visit local parks.

The message comes after Richmond Council's waste and collection team cleared triple the usual number of bags of litter from bins and surrounding areas in our parks.

Litter is a blight on attractive spaces, a hazard to wildlife and a potential risk to human health.

It is also a problem in Richmond Park, rising by a staggering 644% in June.

Temporary bins have been installed at key sites, but the council said many park visitors are still leaving behind bottles, food, packets and bags when they find the bins are already full.

The authority urged all park users to take your rubbish home and recycle if possible.

Litter picking initiatives

A growing number of community-spirited residents are coming forward and offering to help by volunteering to coordinate litter picks.

To help facilitate these activities, the council and the South West London Environment Network, have written guidance to help people plan and organise their events safely.

Cllr Julia Neden-Watts is chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee on Richmond Council.

She said: "Our parks and open spaces have played a vital role for residents during lockdown.

"However, the amount of additional waste that is being left behind in our parks is enormous. Our parks and open spaces, and our staff, deserve to be treated with respect.

"With the gradual relaxation of the lockdown restrictions, we have been disappointed with the behaviour of a minority, which has placed extra pressure on our staff and resources at a time when we are still dealing with a national emergency.

"We want all our residents to be able to enjoy our parks and open spaces safely, so I'd urge all visitors to behave responsibly, consider others, take litter home and adhere to the government guidance on social distancing and hygiene.

"I thank everyone who has helped us by litter-picking in our parks recently, and I hope that this guidance is useful for other like-minded residents who want to help us address this problem and keep our parks beautiful."

Colin Cooper of the environment network said: "We regularly support community-minded people and local groups to litter-pick helping to keep their parks and neighbourhood clean.

"We hope this new guidance (and documentation in one place) will make it easier for these existing activities, as well as new litter-picking activity, to help keep the places we love clean and protect the environment.

"If residents or groups would like any help in getting a litter-pick going, including the loan of littler-pickers and bags, we stand by ready to assist."

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