By Sophie, 30th Jun 2023
A new Litter Picking Hub has opened at B-Leaf in Bryngarw Country Park.
Awen Cultural Trust and Keep Wales Tidy have launched the Hub to enable park visitors to borrow free litter picking equipment.
Over the past two years, Litter Picking Hubs have been popping up across the country as part of Caru Cymru, Keep Wales Tidy’s biggest ever initiative to eradicate litter and waste. Nearly 200 Hubs are now open, with 16 located in award-winning Green Flag parks like Bryngarw.
Individuals, families, community groups and businesses visiting Bryngarw Country Park can now borrow everything they need to carry out a safe clean-up, including litter pickers, hoops, hi-vis vests and bin bags from B-Leaf.
B-Leaf is a purpose-built garden centre which provides an extensive training programme in horticulture and grounds maintenance for adults with learning disabilities. Based in the grounds of Bryngarw Country Park, near Bryngarw House, it is open Monday to Friday, from 9am until 4pm daily.
Brian Jones, Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer for Bridgend said:
“With the summer holidays just around the corner, it’s fantastic to see the Bryngarw Litter Picking Hub opening up.
“Sadly, we know the amount of litter found on our streets and in our parks often increases as weather improves. Our hubs are designed to make it as easy as possible to carry out a clean-up. We can’t wait to see budding litter heroes making use of the equipment.”
Awen Cultural Trust, the registered charity which manages Bryngarw in partnership with Bridgend County Borough, is committed to reducing waste, improving recycling and using more sustainable energy sources across the park. Recent initiatives have included installing solar panels on the visitor centre, B-Leaf and the offices, adding more recycling bins in the areas with highest footfall and switching light sources to LED.
Richard Hughes, Chief Executive of Awen Cultural Trust, said:
“Bryngarw attracts upwards of 220,000 visitors a year. Fortunately, the vast majority of these visitors love Bryngarw as much as we do and act responsibly and dispose of their rubbish in the recycling and general waste bins provided. Whilst is a shame that littering is still an issue in some areas of the park, I am pleased that we now have a facility on-site at B-Leaf for anyone who wants to carry out a litter pick safely. By involving our trainees in this initiative, they are also gaining valuable customer service experience and developing their IT skills, as they will be recording the distribution and return of the litter picking equipment.”
Caru Cymru has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Visit the Keep Wales Tidy website to find a Litter Picking Hub near you www.keepwalestidy.cymru/litter-picking-hubs.