Volunteers fish out shopping trollies, mattresses, buggies and a cupboard out of Peterborough lake during litter pick

The group chose to hold a litter pick at Fletton Lake given the fact that it has become a hotspot for dropping litter and fly tipping.

On Saturday (June 12), a team of five volunteers spent over two hours at the site clearing it up, including the river bed itself. Some of the rubbish found was somewhat surprising. Amongst the rubbish fished out from the riverbed and the surrounding area was 13 shopping trollies, four mattresses, two buggies, a tyre, a cupboard, a pallet and ten bags of litter.

Stuart from Peterborough in Transition said: “We chose this location for the pick, as it is such a grot spot for litter and fly tipping.

“It is not being managed very well, as the council do not manage the land, but we are working with them to establish who is responsible and engaging with them to do a better job.

“It is such a beautiful space, and a great resource for Peterborough’s wildlife and nature. We hope to improve the overall area, highlighting its full beauty.

“It’s amazing what we can do when we work together. Thank you to all that helped, we will be back in a few weeks.”

The group itself is part of a global transition network, helping local areas to a more sustainable future. They have been holding regular small litter picks across the city since the beginning of the year, with the aim of collecting two bags of rubbish a week.

They held their first organised litter pick post lockdown in May, also at Fletton Lake. Fourteen volunteers turned up and helped to collect 22 bags of rubbish but they noticed there was so much fly-tipped waste, some of it very large, that they would not be able to collect it all. Therefore, they went back on Saturday to carry out a ‘heavy duty’ pick.

One of the team, Harry, who does regular litter picks along the River Nene, has a grappling hook and brought it along to tackle the larger items in the water.

Danette added: “The litter picking is part of our wider aim of getting Peterborians to love where they live. We are also in the planning stages of implementing raised beds in a green space that has a history of suffering from litter and fly tipping.

“These raised beds will be for flowers and edibles, encouraging local residents to care for their green spaces and come together as a community. We hope to spread this idea further across the city.

“Our other main project at the moment is a food cooperative; buying food, toiletries and household products from an ethical wholesaler, with a strong emphasis on refills, reducing the waste that is produced from people buying in smaller quantities. This also helps bring the cost of other ethically minded products down, whilst retaining the ethical benefits.”

To learn more about Transition in Peterborough and their events, visit www.facebook.com/transitionpeterborough.