Help Clean Up on Thame Tidy Day!

IT’S that time of year when spring is in the air, so it must be time for Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day! On Saturday, March 17, everyone can do their bit to help keep our neighbourhoods looking attractive and litter-free. If you hate litter, love the place where you live, and want to improve the local environment, why not help clean up in Thame and Moreton on Saturday 17th March?

Volunteers and the pile of assorted rubbish collected on the first Thame Tidy Day in 2011

Litter is unsightly, unattractive and pollutes our environment. There’s been a government Litter Strategy for England in place since 2017, the local council spends over £500,000 picking up over 1,500 tonnes of litter a year, and there are substantial fines if you’re caught littering – yet litter continues to remain a problem across our country and in our towns and villages.

Well, we can all do something to combat this problem in our local area! Why not get together with family, groups of neighbours or friends and make Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day a really special day, when we clear our streets of all the accumulated rubbish?

Rosemary Bryant, organiser of Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day on behalf of 21st Century Thame, said: “We need as many people as possible to come to the Town Hall on Saturday, 17, and help us tidy up Thame and Moreton. Just come along between 10 am and 4 pm, collect litter pickers and rubbish bags from the Thame Lions gazebo outside the Town Hall and get litter-picking!’ (Litter pickers have already been collected for people in Moreton, where the clean-up starts at 10 am).

Rosemary continued: “If there’s a spot you know that needs a good tidy, why not get a group together and tackle the litter that’s built up there? As one example, we’ve identified part of Lea Park as somewhere we’re going to concentrate on. There’s no need to worry about being on your own, you’ll be pointed in the direction of other groups you can join.

“There’s another collection point between the two bridges on the Phoenix Trail, where Sustrans will have a stand, handing out litter pickers and bags. There’s plenty to do and the Phoenix Trail will be divided into sections to ensure we clear it all. A group from Chiltern Vale are meeting at 10am to start working on the Hatchetts Lane part of the Trail.”

Sue Martin-Downhill of organisers, 21st Century Thame, said: “This event would not happen without fantastic support from our sponsors, donors and volunteers. They include Thame Lions, ASM, Unicarriers, Bucks Recycling, MP Printers, Biffa, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Thame Town Council for their assistance in promoting the event. We’re incredibly grateful to them all for their help in making this a very successful event, which is now in its eighth year.”

Rosemary concluded: “For more details on what’s happening on March 17, just keep an eye on the Thame Tidy 2018 group page on Facebook, or simply turn up on the day and you’ll get instructions on what you can do to help.”

For more information about 21st Century Thame, founders of Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day, contact Sue Martin-Downhill on 07860 328880 or email her at suedownhill@gmail.com
Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day are being held during the Great British Spring Clean (#GBSpringClean) which is happening nationwide between March 2 – 25. For more details go to www.keepbritaintidy.org.

In order to maintain high standards of street cleanliness, PSCOs, acting on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council, can now issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of £80 (reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days) to anyone over the age of 18 for dropping litter on public land or highways but not picking it up. For more information, LINK HERE