Community Focus – #6 – Litter Free Pudsey

Pudsey has a number of wonderful groups and charities within the town. Each month we want to shine the spotlight on one and let them tell you more about what they’re up to. This month we caught up with James from Litter Free Pudsey. Litter Free Pudsey is a volunteer group that can regularly be seen pounding the pavements around the town and cleaning litter and rubbish to make the town a more pleasant place to live.

Tell us about yourselves, where it all began and your ties to Pudsey?

During the first lockdown I started litter picking with my kids as part of our daily exercise after seeing the work that Lisa Farrar does within the community. it was like an adventure for us, exploring new places, picking up litter along the way, having a little competition between us to see who could pick up the most items.

I also did solo litter picks which would take longer to do as they were bigger areas. it became very addictive yet enjoyable and we had people saying hello and thank you in the street and letting us know how much nicer certain areas were since we had started.

we wanted to have a sense of pride in our town and wanted to do our bit. Before we knew it people would join us and there would be groups of us wandering around with bags and pickers, making friends along the way. Since then I was asked to look after the Litter Free Pudsey facebook group to help spread the word further and to encourage people to join in. These events paved the way to making connections within the Cleaner Neighbourhoods team, Parks and Countryside and local councillors so that we could all work effectively to keep Pudsey a clean space for all to enjoy.

How would you describe your group in one sentence?

We are an outgoing, friendly bunch who are always up for a challenge to make a difference to our community.

What makes you do what you do?

My motivational thought was that I didn’t want visitors to Pudsey going away thinking it was just a big rubbish tip.

Tell us more about what you’re up to in the community

We are still working on our current project (Adopt your Street), where people look after the street/area that they live in, which helps us all contribute to the bigger picture of a beautiful Pudsey.

Are there opportunities for the community to get involved with you or support you in any way?

Everyone is welcome to help us either by Adopting their street/area or joining in on a community organised litter pick.

You can find out more about Litter Free Pudsey and what they’re up to in the community by checking out their Facebook group.