News / St Pauls
Community cry for action on St Paul’s waste collection issue
Residents are highlighting ” the overflowing bins, uncollected waste, and the epidemic of fly-tipping on our pavements” in their neighbourhood with a new exhibition in City Hall.
Local group Better Streets is lamenting the “extreme” level of uncollected rubbish and overflowing bins in St Paul’s which it say is “hazardous, unhealthy and depressing”, and is calling for “respect and adequate equitable resources and services” to put a stop to it.
Gemma Buchan, a St Paul’s resident and campaigner, said the sight of rubbish for her four children has become “daily scenery on their way to school”.
is needed now More than ever
“It’s a constant fight and it’s exhausting. But also how do I teach my children not to drop rubbish on the floor? How do I teach them to respect their environment? ”
The new exhibition inside the Vestibules is a “visual campaign” to share how the issue affects the community, with photos taken by Emma Reynolds.
The exhibition documents images of the “extreme” waste issue in St Paul’s – photo: Meg Davies
On the decision to turn the trash into art, Buchan said: “We frequently post our despair on our local Facebook page and it’s become a very constant theme”.
“It just felt like we were shouting in a vast load of nothingness and what we really need to do is get everyone else involved.”
Tara Miran, a resident leading the campaign who was also a leading voice in the fight to get the community’s only dentist back open, explained that the exhibition was initially a joke but her frustration pushed her to make the idea reality.
“It was just like-minded people driven by anger and passion to do something,” she said.
“The exhibition is a shout asking everyone to come together. A consultation – that we are not being paid for.”
Better Streets is group made up of local residents and campaigners who want to make positive change in their neighbourhood – photo: Meg Davies
Green councillor for Ashley Tim Wye visited the exhibition and described the waste issue in his ward as “one of the two biggest things in my inbox”.
He suggested that St Paul’s is disproportionately affected due to fly-tippers entering from the M32 as well as the prevalence of mini recycling centres.
Better Streets’ free exhibition is open until Friday.
Main photo: Emma Reynolds
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