We continue to be astonished, not to say dismayed, by the mountains of litter left on the Common particularly at weekends. We’ve been doing our bit, mounting our biggest ever litter pick with 18 people collecting 70 bags one Sunday morning. Lots more people do this every day and of course our efforts pale into insignificance compared to the amounts collected by Michael, the Common’s sole dedicated litter picker, with a bit of help at the weekend. At least two-thirds of the litter is recyclable and we’re pleased to say that more recycling is on the way. We’ve been working behind the scenes alongside the MAC with the Council, Enable, local residents and businesses, tying to make a difference. We attended a ‘litter summit’ at the end of the month to brainstorm different ideas, some of which are being rolled out. Collections have increased and more bins deployed. Bigger bins have been put in strategic locations. Anti-litter signs have gone up and new ones are coming to try and change behaviour, which is the hardest part of the equation. Ideally we want people to take their litter home. There have been talks with local businesses to encourage them to play a part in solving the problem. A deposit return scheme is something we’d like to see introduced. No-one has yet been fined for littering and we’d like that to change. Despite all these efforts we fear that increased litter is here to say for the summer – unless we see a change in behaviour. It’s a nationwide problem