Council thanks litter picking volunteers for work in the Harborough district

Published Friday 16 December 2022

The Leader of Harborough District Council has thanked the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles for helping to combat litter in the district.

Photo of of Harborough District Council, Bob Lee, founding member of the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles, volunteers and officers from Harborough District Council and FCC Environment
Cllr Phil King, Leader of Harborough District Council, Bob Lee, founding member of the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles, volunteers and officers from Harborough District Council and FCC Environment

The group of volunteers has marked an amazing milestone of collecting 100,000 bags of litter from across Leicester and Leicestershire.

The South Leicestershire Litter Wombles, which was established in 2019 and started counting litter bags collected in January 2020, is made up of around 500 active volunteers who carry out litter picking ‘Womble’ sessions across South Leicestershire and Leicester. 

Harborough District Council supplies the litter bags and kit to the volunteer group and the council’s contractor, FCC Environment, removes the full bags and takes them for disposal or recycling.

Cllr Phil King, Leader of Harborough District Council, said: “The council is incredibly grateful for all the work that the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles have done to help to keep the Harborough district clean and green. The group really enhance the work that is done by the council and our contractors, FCC Environment, and we have an excellent working relationship with the group. The positive way that all parties work together is really making a difference.”

Bob Lee, the founding member of The South Leicestershire Litter Wombles, said: “What started out as a bit of a rant on social media, has turned into a movement of amazing liked minded volunteers. All our volunteers give up their time to clean up our environment and there’s nowhere we won’t try and clean. To reach an astonishing landmark of 100,000 is both scary and satisfying. Much of the rubbish we clear up is more than 25 years old and hasn’t degraded at all. The staff at Harborough District Council have been very supportive and we couldn’t be successful without their back up. The job isn’t finished yet though. There is still plenty of litter out in our landscape, so if you’d like join us and make a difference, please check out our Facebook page.”

FCC Environment Contract Manager John Whitup said: “It is great for us as a professional provider of services to the community to be able to work alongside such a positive and proactive community group. The South Leicestershire Litter Wombles are a valuable community asset and this is milestone well worth celebrating.”

If you are interested in taking part in a litter pick run by the group, please see their ‘South Leicestershire Litter Wombles’ group on Facebook for details.