MORE THAN 500 pieces of litter were picked up from Droitwich’s Westlands estate during a spring clean held as part of the national Great Plastic Pick Up.
Staff from Wychavon District Council and Fortis Living were joined by Coun George Duffy were joined for the tidy.
Among the plastic items left on paths or tossed into hedges were bottles, bottle tops and straws, along with more unusual items such as roller skates, traffic cones and plastic Christmas trees.
Wychavon spends around £1.5million-a-year tackling street littering, with councils around the UK annually spending £800million between them.
Coun Duffy said: “Seeing how much plastic is hanging about in our environment was a real eye opener.
“Litter not only looks unsightly but it presents but it presents a danger in wildlife and could contaminate soil.
“There are plenty of bins around and I’d urge people to use them and keep our beautiful district clean.”
Coun Emma Stokes, Wychavon’s executive board member for environment, added: “Public awareness about the impact plastic has on our environment has increased significantly following recent television programmes highlighting the issue.
“Wychavon is taking the lead with our promise to reduce our own plastic consumption while also encouraging and supporting residents to do the same.”
