New Mills litter pickers out in force to tidy up the town

On Saturday April 17 several members of the group were out tidying the town and collected 18 bags of rubbish from around the leisure centre and down in the Torrs.

They found a hifi and speakers, plus some historical litter from 1998 making it 23 years old.

Zena Aris-Sutton, one of the founders of New Mills Litterpickers said: “To start with we were finding ‘historical’ litter dating back as far as 1970, but gradually this has been collected. Even so it seems a never-ending task and our amazing volunteers on the regular litter picks will always fill many bags at each pick.”

After a litter pick, High Peak Borough Council collects the bags of litter for disposal.

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Sean Whewell from Visit New Mills said: “Over recent years New Mills has become more and more popular as a tourist destination.

"With its quirky rock faces, rivers and well-defined walking routes as well as many pubs, cafes and well-marked walking routes the easy to get to town has become a gateway to the High Peak.

"Being a popular visitor destination also has its challenges and one of the most visible ones is when visitors leave litter. To combat this New Mills Litterpick Party were formed in 2016 and consists of dozens of local volunteers who over the years have so far collected 1061 bags of litter and rubbish.

"Even during lockdown family bubbles were keeping favourite walking routes like the Sett Valley Trail, Torrs Riverside Park and Mousley Bottom cleaning over 123 bags.”

A spokesperson for High Peak Borough Council said: “We are aware of the fly tipping and litter at the rear of Queens Arms/Carwash, Church Road/ Union Road junction in New Mills and are working with New Mills Parish Council.

"Please take your rubbish home with you and dispose of it correctly.”

The group organises litter picks every four to six weeks, alternating between the weekend days. For more information or to get involved email: [email protected].

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