Litter 'left to volunteers' after bins removed

An army of litter pickers powered by caffeine are cleaning up a stretch of land where 50 bins were removed.

In 2023, the Canal and River Trust removed bins along a stretch of the River Tees in Stockton, saying it could no longer afford to meet the cost of emptying them.

Concerns about litter have been raised regularly since, but the charity maintains it cannot afford to return them and the town's council said the decision is beyond its control.

Mark Lowe, who has a coffee shop on the land and offers free drinks to volunteers, said: "There has been too much back and forth over who has responsibility, so I'm just getting on with it myself."

He added: "People need to start taking responsibility and ownership, but it's a lot easier and faster if we just start sorting it out as a community."

Responsibility for the clean-up ultimately lies with Stockton Borough Council, according to government guidelines.

While the landowner is expected to maintain the area, the council can be prosecuted if it fails to take enforcement action where necessary.

Stockton Borough Council leader Bob Cook acknowledged the Labour-led council had those powers "if the need arose", adding it had not taken any action against the Canal and River Trust and is not considering doing so "at this stage".

When a reporter from the Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the area recently, he spoke to a number of walkers who highlighted problems with dog poo bags being dumped in trees and bushes.

Litter pickers, including volunteers with the Canal and River Trust, have been working to keep on top of the problem and Mr Lowe's recent offer is helping to attract new people to the cause.

But the real issue, all concerned say, is those who litter in the first place, causing a hazard to both humans and wildlife in the area.

Sean McGinley, regional director of the Canal and River Trust, said it was upsetting that "people are still leaving litter, which then finds its way into the river".

He said the charity was facing soaring costs and stretched budgets, adding: "The decision to remove our bins saves much needed money that will help pay for a long list of vital repairs."

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].