Write a commentDespite this morning's gale force winds and rain, over twenty hardy individuals donned their gloves and hi-viz vests, grabbed their litter pick and spent a couple of hours helping clean up Newry.
The Litter Pick organised by Newry BID followed on from several successful picks in 2019, all with the aim of tidying up Newry and making it a better place to live and work in.
Today's pick took in areas around Monaghan Street, Catherine Street, Railway Avenue and Cecil Street as well as McClelland Park. While streets are kept clean daily by council, many off street areas seem to be litter magnets.
Dozens of bags of litter were collected and removed. Everything from coats, jumpers and socks to unused foodstuffs to bottles and cans and much much more was taken out of circulation.
Newry BID members were joined by an enthusiastic team of young people from Clanrye Group along with Council Chairperson, Cllr Charlie Casey, Cllr Valerie Harte and Cllr Gavin Malone and everyone set out around 10.30am on the clean-up.
Litter and dog fouling is a major on-going issue in Newry City but it's refreshing to see local people willing to get involved to help keep Newry clean.
Today's clean up may have only touched the surface of the problem, with many private areas of land in the city centre still awash with junk, but even a short clean up removes an incredible amount and helps tidy the city.
Newry BID will be organising future Litter Picks in the coming months, Keep an eye out on their Facebook page for details and join them.
