Covid Clutter Cleared By Southport Councillors’ Community Project

Local councillors and volunteers have been helping residents clear their Covid clutter after weeks of lockdown led to unwanted items and rubbish stockpiling.

Norwood’s councillors arranged the community skips to help householders in the ward get rid of a wide range of domestic junk. Everything from old mattresses to crockery sets ended up being skipped, with volunteers from the local Labour party also on hand to staff the skips and help carry and load items.

The project’s organiser, Councillor Greg Myers, says the High Park householders were clearly delighted at the opportunity to clear their clutter after recent months:

“It’s been hard for local residents with unwanted items to get rid of over the lockdown period, especially with the local tip being closed and then the understandable delays once it opened again. So, the idea was that as soon as the restrictions eased enough we’d do what we could to help.”

“I’d leafleted the area a couple of days before the skips arrived to let residents know and could see the obvious need, with old settees and mattresses, armchairs and all sorts of broken household items like hoovers and old bikes that needed clearing.”

“The biggest challenge we had on the day was getting a bed settee we spotted in a front garden onto the double size skip that was already pretty full. We really wanted to help the young family it belonged to though, as it had obviously been there a while during the lockdown.”

“We got there in the end by working together with the occupants who were very appreciative, which is always really nice and makes it worthwhile.”

“It was also great to be out with the local Labour volunteers getting stuck into community projects again, especially given the amount of positive feedback from residents.”

“We’ll be looking to do more across the ward in the coming weeks and months but I’d also remind residents that Sefton does a bulky items collection service, which only costs £10 for the items and can be easily booked online. It’s an excellent service that can really help if you are unable to dispose of large items yourself.”

“I’d also plead with residents across Southport and the borough not to fly-tip as apart from the mess it causes and the lack of consideration for other residents, it creates real problems for the local authority at a time when it is already under huge pressure due to Covid.”

“If anyone spots fly-tipping happening please report it, hopefully with a handy vehicle registration number to help track down the culprits.”

You can report fly-tipping by calling 0345 140 0845 and book Sefton’s bulky items service here: https://www.sefton.gov.uk/bins-recycling/bulky-item-collections/arrange-a-bulky-item-collection.aspx