A community group in Balham are calling on residents to help clean up SW12, after collecting 23 bags of rubbish in one hour.
Beautify Balham, a community group of volunteers, is inviting people to join its August litter pick tomorrow from 11am to 12pm, meeting at the back of Sainsbury’s on Bedford Hill Place.
The community group is an apolitical and non-profit organisation that aims to make Balham cleaner, greener, and more beautiful through encouraging local residents and businesses to take responsibility for the area.
Jean Millar, the founder of Beautify Balham, said: “We started doing the litter picks about 18 months ago, before all the lockdowns.
“It’s almost become a social scene, getting together each month – everyone gets to know each other.”
The group works in cooperation with Wandsworth Borough Council, which provided the group with a small grant for the litter picking equipment and high-vis jackets.
Millar said: “We collect a huge amount in an hour – in one day, we collected 23 bags of rubbish, and that was after the dustbins were emptied on the Friday and the streets were cleaned on the Saturday.”
Beautify Balham have also played an important role in successfully rallying for the refurbishment of Balham Bridge, raising the issue of the dilapidated bridge to the local MP, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan.
The litter picks take place regularly on the first Saturday of every month, and it is advised that volunteers bring their own gloves.
For more information about Beautify Balhams anti-litter campaign, visit https://beautifybalham.org/litter-picking/ or contact [email protected].
Featured Image: @BalhamBeautify on Twitter.
