After doing a voluntary litter pick last month at the woodlands, 1st Margate Cubs were thanked by Secretary Kashmir Flint, who also did a talk about waste, its problems and how we can all help to reduce it. Every year, England and Wales produce enough waste to cover Hyde Park in 80 foot of rubbish, which is around the equivalent of 4 double storey houses! A lot of this waste ends up in natural areas or in the sea where it harms wildlife, with the RSPCA receiving over 7,000 calls over litter-related incidents every year.
But as Kashmir explained to the attentive Cubs, waste is a problem that we have created, therefore it is a problem that we can solve! Using the waste hierarchy, we can reduce, reuse and recycle, often in fun and creative ways.
Waste is an issue closely tied with Dane Valley Woods, from both its past and present. Dane Valley Woods was an old landfill site, as a result, we often find odd items when digging around! Whilst this is great because it is now covered in emerging woodlands, we care about the environment and do not want to see all our natural spaces being covered in landfill sites. Waste is also a present problem for us, as the site is a main route through Dane Valley, therefore we are constantly battling with litter. We spend many task days litter-picking, which consumes voluntary time and effort.
The Cubs kindly helped us by using their time to litter-pick at the woodlands and giving us a kind donation, to which we are incredibly grateful.
