Salford Litter Heroes clean up the streets with an army of volunteers
- Volunteers give up their time on Sunday to make the community tidier
- Group clear up street and footpaths
- Initiative set up by student Danielle Wright last year
Salford Litter Heroes have been taking to the streets tidying up litter-strewn streets and footpaths.
The group was formed by 22-year-old teaching student Danielle Wright in 2019 with an aim to clean up the streets of Salford and encourage residents to address the problem of littering.
NQ joined volunteers to find out more about what motivates them and to ask Danielle about setting up the project during a clear-up of Seaford Road.
She said: “Litter and fly-tipping is a massive issue in Salford and I just couldn’t sit back and do nothing about it. And I’m very aware after studying geography of the environmental impact.”
Danielle said she understood why some people might think it is the council’s job to pick up litter and not volunteers.
“I don’t think they have the funding to do it at the moment but I would say the council support us a lot,” she said.
“They give us all the free resources to litter pick. We can do that and help volunteers but at the moment they don’t have enough time to clear streets.”
She believed it was important to encourage recycling and that shops need to take responsibility as well.
“All the plastic at the source just needs to be reduced. If it’s not at the source, or they use biodegradable products, then it would make it much easier for the consumer,” she said.
Mike is a member of Salford Volunteer Rangers and said he got involved because of his care for the community.
“We made a decision to help set up Salford Litter Heroes with Danni and try and build it up,” he said.
“It’s conservation based, whether environmental or wildlife.”
Another volunteer NQ spoke to Ian, who said he had made a new year resolution to do more for the community.
