I have challenged myself to collect at least 1 bag of litter a day I have not set a goal for how long this challenge lasts but if I can do a week then I'll try and do a month and then see how it goes. I know what I'm like and I'll probably find picking the litter a lot easier than updating a blog. I'll try to blog each day the progress I make. A lot of how this goes will be down to the support and interest I get, so really it is down to you to keep me going. See what I did there!
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| Sheepcote Valley |
Today is Day 001 of the challenge and this afternoon in the blazing sun I litterpicked the carpark at the top of Sheepcote Valley. I have been meaning to do this spot for quite a while but I always have my dog Orlagh with me when I go here and a carpark is not the best place to have a dog wandering around free. So I took a leaf out of Wayne Dixon's book and invested in a hands-free lead so I could go to places like this with Orlagh. Getting the lead was an adventure all of itself. The first stage of the adventure took me to a nearby garden centre where they have a pet franchise shop. Just my luck a massive delivery had been dumped right in front of the leads display. I asked the staff for some help but I don't think they had a clue and I left without a purchase. I then went to a small pet shop on Preston Drove. This shop had some hands-free leads but the waist part didn't work very well so I left promissing that I would return if I couldn't find anything better. I then went to another big pet store near Preston Park Stn. Again I was underwhelmed by the staffs knowledge and the sales assistant tried to sell me something I would have to step into to wear: that can't be right. My final stop was a pet store at the Goldstone Trading Estate. They had a lead that was the best of what I had seen so far but it was clearly made for someone slimmer than me, it fitted - just, but I'm sure the design could have been a lot better. I bought the lead but have decided to make myself something from leather on a rainy day.
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| Warren Road Carpark Looking West |
With all the drama of leads dealt with it was time for a quick lunch of smoked mackeral on crakers then off to Sheepcote Valley.
I had noticed a fly-tip in one corner of the carpark some weeks ago and though it had been there the last time I came here it had now thankfully been removed. The carpark wasn't too bad, but I was sure I would easily fill a bag. I spent an hour and 15mins litterpicking and managed to collect two bags of litter weighing 3.4kg in total. I always say a full bag is either at least 3kg or a 1/3 full. The item most found was ciggerette ends and the most unusual item was a hands-free ear piece. I also found I think all of the usual suspects; q-tips, drinking straws, costa coffee cup, plastic coke bottle, plastic water bottle, plastic bottle caps, metal bottle caps, McDonalds packaging, HP2 polystyrene takeaway food box, glass bottle, and rollup filter wraps.
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| Nokia BH-102 Bluetooth Headset |
I will save the data from these litterpicks for analysis and comparison and hope that it will be of some use. I also doubt I will write so much each day. I am pleased with the way the carpark looks now and as I go here often to walk Orlagh it will be easy to monitor if the clear-up has any positive effect. For today though I'll finish with the photo of me, Orlagh, and what was collected.
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Me, Orlagh, and what was collected
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