Mayor does deal to get McDonalds to empty rubbish bin @weekends

Yate Mayor, Karl Tomasin from the Focus Team 

Our thanks to McDonalds.

Yate Mayor, Karl Tomasin has worked with McDonalds, to improve weekend bin emptying. As a result McDonalds have agreed to empty the bin by the bus stop on Station Rd near McDonalds at weekends.

Council staff aren't around to empty bins at weekends- but bins everywhere have seen a massive growth in use since COVID started. This one is suffering really badly. Karl spoke to McDonalds, and they have volunteered to empty the bin at the weekend, and Karl got Yate Town Council to provide the necessary kit.

Well done Karl and thanks to McDonalds

Nibley Lane closed 13 Feb

Nibley Lane, Yate will be closed on Thursday 13 February from 9.30am – 3.30pm for cleansing work. This involves litter clearance, gully emptying and road sweeping. South Glos say they cannot do this work safely without closing the road. 

The alternative route is via Badminton Road, Station Road, Westerleigh Road and vice versa. They've apologised for the inconvenience caused. It will also mean Station Road is a lot busier that day.

Annual Abbotswood Clean Up Day Saturday 14 April - please come and help!

It's less than a week now until this year's Annual Abbotswood and local area Clean Up Day. Last year about 50 people, of all ages, took part and the weather was brilliant.

AAG does things across the whole local area (much more than just Abbotswood) and takes in an area of Yate from Witcombe to the West, Shire Way to the East and Badgeworth to the South as well as Abbotswood, Chargrove and Hardwicke.

As numbers and equipment allow people are encouraged to litter pick wherever you would like to in the area, or you can do do painting and planting near the shops and St. Nix Church. There will even be free refreshments to keep you going!

Maybe you could come with your street or nearest park in mind? We really hope to meet you there this coming Saturday, 14th April from 11 am until 3 pm.

Do please pass the invitation on too your friends, neighbours and family. Everyone is very welcome.

Do some spring cleaning this weekend!

There are three local events this Saturday (8th April) where you can make a real difference to your local area.

Dodington Parish Council Spring Clean will start from the Changing Room at QE2 Playing Fields Kelston Close at 10am, and spread out around the Shire Way / Rodford Way area. Litter pickers, black bags and gloves will be provided. Everyone is welcome, though children must be accompanied by an adult.

If you’ve still got some energy afterwards, why not join in the Abbotswood Spring Clean and Planting just across the road? Starting at 11am in front of Abbotswood shops – just come along and choose something you would like to help with. As well as litter picking there will be planting, painting and lotes more to keep you busy.

Meanwhile the Old Sodbury Spring Clean will start at 10am at the Village Hall.

Help with tree planting and litter picking at Wapley Bushes

There will be a tree planting, litter picking and conservation morning at Wapley Bushes on Saturday 25th March 2017 from 10am until 12 noon.


We will be planting some young trees in the woodland and doing a "spring clean" of the Nature Reserve and Common.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the Nature Reserve. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Litter pickers, black sacks, disposable gloves will be provided. Please wear walking boots or wellies.

Join in your local litter pick!

Dodington Parish Council is arranging three litter picks this spring, one in each ward, to coordinate with some other local events:

• Saturday 25th February 2017 10am - 12 noon
  Litter Pick: Meet at Parish Hall, Finch Road
  Or join in the conservation work at Lilliput Park from 10am - meet at Kingfisher Road gate

• Saturday 25th March 2017 10am - 12 noon
  Litter Pick and conservation morning at Wapley Bushes
  Meet at Shire Way entrance to Nature Reserve

• Saturday 8th April 2017 10am - 12 noon
  Litter Pick: Meet at Kelston Close, Front of Changing Rooms
  Or join in the Abbotswood Action Group Spring Clean and planting 

All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Litter pickers, black sacks, disposable gloves will be provided.
Please join us and do your bit this spring.

UWE students WOW Abbotswood

It was good to meet the UWE students who joined volunteers from Abbotswood Action Group and Jacobs Well on Monday working on smartening up the shopping precinct and the car park.

The students are taking part in the WOW project - Widening Occupation Weeks - which gives Occupational Therapy students ‘hands on’ experience of engaging in and with the community through the local voluntary sector.

Well done to all involved!

Join the BIG Spring Clean 2013

Would you or a group you belong to like to help clean up our local area this spring? The South Gloucestershire BIG Spring Clean 2013 runs from 1 March – 30 April and is once again part of the national Love Where You Live campaign.

Free gloves, refuse sacks, litter pickers and hoops are on offer to groups who organise a community BIG Spring Clean event. The council will also arrange to collect all the litter you pick up as long as it is bagged and pick up locations are agreed in advance. Unfortunately skips can no longer be provided.

You can find out more and register for your supplies online - the deadline for registration is 22nd February. You might also like to register your event on the Love Where You Live website, where you can also access useful resources.

Any bin will do

The South Glos dog wardens are currently overwhelmed with requests for new dog bins. The good news is that if there isn't a dog bin available, you can put bagged dog mess in any litter bin. Claire Young asked officers if they would be putting notices on the bin to promote this and has been told that they have ordered some stickers based on the Keep Britain Tidy “Any bin will do” dog fouling campaign to use in relevant areas. Unfortunately many of the litter bins have a textured surface in order to prevent fly posters being applied to them, which also makes it difficult to add the Council's own signs!

A chance to tackle litter

The disappearing snow uncovered a great deal of litter and fly-tipping. South Glos has tackled some hotspots but it’s a never-ending job. Why not get involved in The Big Spring Clean 2010 campaign, which runs from 1 Mar - 30 April? If your group organises a community event, the Council will collect the litter you pick up and you can have free gloves, refuse sacks and skips. Supplies are limited, so register your Big Spring Clean event and requests for equipment with the council by Friday 26 February 2010 at the latest. More information is available on the South Glos website.

Plastic bag use down, but still more to do

According to the Guardian, Tesco has reported a 40 percent drop in the number of plastic bags handed out over the last two years - a drop of 20 million bags a week. They have encouraged customers to re-use bags by giving Green Clubcard Points.

They say that they don't intend to charge for single-use bags, but they will no longer be on display at the checkouts - people will have to ask if they want them.

Marks and Spencer are among stores that have started charging, and their plastic bag use has dropped by 80 percent since May, a reduction of 7 million a week. Profits from the charges, over £200,000, are going to the Groundwork charity to create new parks and play areas.

The Republic of Ireland instituted charges for bags in 2002 and saw a fall of 90 percent. Certain major supermarkets in France have yet another approach - they just don't have single-use carriers. You can't get them even if you ask for them.

Our Government has said that if stores do not introduce a charging policy voluntarily, they will be forced to under the proposed Climate Change Bill. Perhaps Tesco can achieve the same effect by their "hearts and minds" approach.

The size of the problem: According to the Telegraph, shops in Britain hand out almost 250 million plastic bags per week. Their average useful life is just 20 minutes from shop to bin.

Great minds think alike... about rubbish!

A parliamentary posting from Steve Webb today "Stop the Drop" goes well with our post yesterday "We're planning to cause more fly-tipping, says council".

We're planning to cause more fly-tipping, says council

The latest edition of South Gloucestershire News says: "The council is getting tough on those who blight our landscape with fly tipping and litter... The amount of illegal dumping is expected to increase for a number of reasons. European rules make it increasingly difficult and expensive to dispose of waste legally. The council is also likely to have to introduce charges for every bulky waste collection soon, to raise income for other initiatives"

So the Tories are not only blaming litter on the EU, they're admitting that their new policies will increase fly-tipping.

At the moment households get one free collection of up to three bulky items free per year. This looks likely to be scrapped to save money, but they're planning to spend money on enforcement action against fly-tippers!

SG News quotes Cllr Heather Goddard, the executive member for community services, as saying "It is also widely recognised that areas where fly tipping takes place are much more likely to attract other forms of anti-social behaviour and crime, such as drug use, arson, flyposting, graffiti, littering and dog fouling"

And yet you're planning to do something that will increase these problems. Haven't you ever heard of tackling problems at source? Don't wait until the fly-tipping has already happened - make proper disposal the easy option!