Thousands of bags of litter collected by volunteers

Nearly 3,000 bags of litter were removed from Powys streets and green spaces in 18 months as part of an environmental project called Caru (Love) Powys.

The collaboration between Powys County Council and Keep Wales Tidy (KWT) aimed to encourage volunteers to look after their own communities by providing them with equipment, training and support.

It also helped groups to make environmental improvements that encourage biodiversity and ran projects to promote recycling, reuse of equipment and materials, and an interest in nature.

Between July 2023 and the end of 2024, the Caru Powys team worked with 103 different organisations and supported 1,194 different events and activities, which included litter picks, gardening and art projects.

It also provided many different opportunities to volunteer (181) which got 2,692 people involved in looking after their own neighbourhoods.

Caru Powys was made possible thanks to a grant of nearly £116,000 from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

“It’s fantastic that Caru Powys has had such a big impact on Powys environments, improving them for both people and wildlife,” said Cllr Jackie Charlton, Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys. “I congratulate everyone who volunteered, and our street cleaning teams who supported them, for everything they have done.

“Volunteering can have a positive impact on our communities and on those who volunteer, in respect of their own wellbeing. It also helps us maintain clean streets and green spaces, that are teeming with wildlife, while public sector budgets are being squeezed.”

The project built on a successful previous collaboration between the council and KWT as part of the Caru Cymru scheme.

Jodie Griffith, Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer for Powys, said: “The Caru Powys project enabled us to support and engage with a huge number of people across the whole county. It has been fantastic to work with such enthusiastic and active volunteers, who really are looking after their communities.

“We have built a strong partnership with Powys County Council to support much needed litter picking and environmental activities and plan to continue this work in the future.”

If anyone wants to get involved in volunteer litter picking, there are hubs at nine Powys libraries, and several other community venues, where equipment can be borrowed: https://en.powys.gov.uk/article/8026/Volunteer-Litter-Picking.

The litter picking kits include grabbers, bags, bag hoops and hi-vis vests.

The money for Caru Powys was awarded to the council’s Waste and Recycling Service and KWT by the Powys Shared Prosperity Fund Local Partnership Board, which is supported by the council’s Economy and Climate Service.

PICTURE: A community clean-up on the Treowen housing estate in Newtown which was organised as part of Caru Powys and included children from Treowen Primary School.