Action Against Litter newsletter – Issue 10

Rise Up Clean Up Margate (RUCU) had a busy summer, organising weekly beach cleans throughout July, August and September. In August they reached their 100th clean since starting in 2020.
Volunteers play a vital role in protecting marine environments and wildlife and beach cleaning can be both fun and fulfilling. If you want to help maintain a clean and safe coastal environment you can join RUCU at a community beach clean on Margate Main Sands – no experience necessary, all equipment provided.

You may have spotted RUCU at events in Margate this summer, providing advice, equipment and merchandise. This year’s new RUCU x Margate Pride reusable cup was designed by local graphic designer Hannah Warner @hwarnercreative and funded by The Shakespeare pub @theshakespearemargate.The money raised from sales funds projects like the TidyPac stations around Margate Main Sands. Volunteers restock these daily with free recycled litter bags so members of the public can use them to help keep the beach clean all year round.

If you’d like to join a beach clean or get involved with RUCU projects, you can find out more and joining the mailing list at riseupcleanup.co.uk/beach-cleans

Two new CleanupUK hubs opened at Bon Volks CIC near Dane Park, Margate and the Oval Bandstand and Lawns in Cliftonville. These join the Cleanup hubs at Ark Cliftonville, and Ellington Park Café, Newington Community Centre and Radford House in Ramsgate.

Thank you to all hubs and volunteers for collecting over 2,000 bags of litter from Thanet’s streets over the past year. A special mention to volunteers from the Newington Community Centre in Ramsgate, who collected 157 bags in their weekly litter picks, and the Ramsgate Litter Pickers who go out daily (recorded via the Radford House Hub) and have collected a whopping 1,817 bags this year.

Bon Volks Hub held two community litter picks this summer – the first during their Swift Weekend, a celebration of the return of these beautiful birds, and the second at the council’s Thanet Games at Dane Park in August.
Local residents borrowed equipment from the hub to collect litter in Dane Park, Margate. If you’d like to borrow equipment or join a group to help keep Dane Park litter-free, they’d love to hear from you.

A new hub was set up at the Oval Bandstand and Lawns in Cliftonville who hosted their first litter pick as part of the Cliftonville Games event. Participants enjoyed litter picking and children received CleanupUK ‘Protect Our Waterways’ stickers for their efforts.

CleanupUK ran ‘Protect Our Waterways’ activities at hubs throughout August and September. Together with RUCU, Bon Volks Hub and Plastic Free Thanet, they organised a seagull-themed fancy dress litter pick and parade on Sunday 31 August.

Margate’s Mayor, Cllr Katie Pope and Deputy Mayor, Tamara Campbell, joined the volunteers as they cleaned up Dane Park and joined the RUCU community beach clean on Margate Main Sands. The best-dressed seagulls were given a reusable Margate cup by Plastic Free Thanet. It was a squawking success and the groups hope to make this an annual event.

If you want to borrow litter picking equipment, join like-minded people on a litter pick or even set up your own group litter pick in Thanet please check www.cleanupuk.org.uk to find your nearest hub or contact CleanupUK Thanet Champion Sam at sam.pisano@cleanupuk.org.uk

Ramsgate’s Litter Heroes: 1,823 bags and counting!

In November 2024, Ramsgate Litter Forum joined the CleanupUK campaign to help keep track of how much rubbish our volunteer pickers were collecting. Fast forward ten months and the results are in: 1,823 sacks of litter have been cleared from our streets by this determined community of volunteers.

Ramsgate, like many of our neighbouring towns, is lucky to have a dedicated task force of litter pickers. Some go out daily, focusing on litter hot spots. This intrepid bunch rises to the challenge every time and are our unsung heroes.

Many local residents played a part in this effort. Among them are Mandy, Mick, Terry, Emma, Liubov, Guy, Maxine, Bev, Sue (who also logs every single bag – thank you Sue!), Ollie, Benji and more. In fact, there are now over 700 members in the Ramsgate Litter Pickers group.

If you’d like to get involved, it’s easy. You can:
1. Join a monthly community litter pick. Follow Cllr Raushan Ara on Facebook to find out more.
2. Pop into Radford House and speak to Maxine, or email her at maxine.morgan@ramsgatetc.org.uk to find out how to collect your own bags (supplied by Thanet District Council), litter picker and hoop – all free of course!
3. Share your efforts on the Ramsgate Litter Pickers Facebook page by posting a photo of your collected litter next to a Thanet District Council bin. The district council collects the bags as part of their service. Sue will then log your collection onto our CleanupUK tally so your contribution is officially recorded. (Please only use the special white bags provided).

You can also support other local initiatives, such as:

• The Ramsgate Society, which runs several community picks each year.
• The Great Ramsgate Spring Clean, with events in March and April each year.
• NEKMPA (North East Kent Marine Protection Agency), which organises regular beach clean-ups.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure. While we’d love to see a future where litter picking isn’t needed, the reality is that littering remains a problem, despite the fact that dropping rubbish can result in a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice.

If you enjoy walking and want to make a real difference to our community, why not join us? We’ll provide the equipment, you bring the enthusiasm.

Together, we can keep Ramsgate clean!
Ramsgate Litter Forum, a Ramsgate Town Team initiative

In June, Year 12 students from Queenswood School, Hatfield, visited Kingsgate Bay for their community action day. The students partnered with the Marine Conservation Society to complete a beach clean and survey their findings.

Thanet District Council lent more than 40 litter pickers, rubbish bags, rubbish hoops, a weighing scale and tape measure. The students surveyed two 100 metre sections , and collected the rubbish found. The rubbish was sorted, and the students found crisp packets, cans, cups, shopping bags, dog poo bags, balloons and scrap metal including two single use barbecues. The completed surveys were sent to the Marine Conservation Society.

The students and staff had a brilliant time, playing football, enjoying the sun and exploring the beach once the survey was completed. They went away with a better understanding of the impact of rubbish on the environment, and a commitment to pick up rubbish they see on our beaches and surrounding area.