Dorset anti-litter project a shining example for other communities

It started with one Dorset resident getting fed up with the amount of litter near his home but now, a decade later, the Chickerell Community Litter Team is celebrating its tenth anniverary.

When Brian Bean decided to start picking up the litter whenever he could, he soon realised that prevention was better than cure, so opted to try and involve the whole community.

Since then, a number of initiatives have been introduced, including a nine-month long 'Find a bin and put it in' campaign in 2009.

It was supported financially by the Dorset Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Community Foundation and Chickerell Town Council.

Brian said it was hoped that the Chickerell Community Litter Team project would provide a model for others to follow but, despite numerous efforts and the Government's focus on localism, this has still not happened.

In a leaflet about the scheme, Brian and his team claim that the Chickerell project has resulted in eight out of ten 'offenders' being persuaded not to drop litter.

Brian says that he finds it frustrating that many places still concentrate on picking up litter, often at tremendous cost to the taxpayer, whereas he would rather the effort be concentrated on prevention.

"The Chickerell Community Litter Team have made tremendous efforts over a decade to improve their local community," said Trevor Bevins, Director of Dorset CPRE who also chairs the Dorset Campaign Against Litter group.

"They are owed a debt of gratitude.

"We only wish that more communities in Dorset, and elsewhere, would take up the challenge and try similar campaigns in their own areas."