A group of volunteers have taken to the streets of Sheffield in a bid to keep the city clean.
Sheffield Litter Pickers has more than 4,936 members who spend their free time litter picking to try to make the city as clean as possible.
Gilmar Alberto Ruvinski, an electrical engineer and father of two, spends up to two hours after work picking up litter ‘almost everyday’ from the streets in Broomhill where he lives.
“What drives me to do it is the hope of seeing a cleaner city. Most of the city is neglected and dirty,” said Gilmar.
Gilmar’s motivation extends from simply cleaning the rubbish to reducing the amount of rubbish in the streets.
Daniel Ryan, who has been volunteering with Sheffield Litter Pickers for one year, said: ”It is similar to other cities in the UK like Manchester, Leeds, London, Bradford which have similar litter issues. In Sheffield the worst place by far is Fir Vale. It is probably the worst place I’ve seen in the country. It never fails to shock me driving through Fir Vale. I went to Prague recently and there is no litter anywhere.”
He added: “I refuse to live in an open rubbish dump. I help out in other areas where I can always clean up any litter in children’s play areas. I refuse to have my kids playing amongst litter and filth. Often the bins in public parks are overflowing, especially at the weekends.”
Malcolm Camp has been doing volunteer work for 20 years.
He said: “Sheffield streets are among the most beautiful in the world, often windy and exposed with great views and industrial heritage of world importance.”
Mr Camp also pointed out the problems that street sweepers cannot solve, such as the inability to clean up rubbish behind parked vehicles and in some green spaces. Mr Camp said the sweepers are also under capacity for a city the size of Sheffield and on this budget.
He said: “The problems with waste disposal are systemic and go beyond single causes or multiple fixes – it requires a multiple systemic approach which involves community care takers.”
Sheffield City Council has been contacted for comment regarding the current situation with litter in the city.
