Youngsters living in the Forest of Dean are being invited to take part in a competition to decorate four of the district’s street cleansing vehicles.
The competition, medicine launched this week by the Joint Waste Team based at the District Council in Coleford and waste contractor Biffa, aims to encourage people of all ages to think about the problems of littering and fly-tipping in the district.
Young people will be asked to design a poster, with the four best designs – one from each age category – being recreated on the vehicle sides.
Rachel Capon, Joint Waste Team Leader at Coleford said: “We live in such a beautiful place yet we are seeing more and more litter in the Forest and on our streets. Littering is anti-social and the rubbish left behind is not only unsightly but damaging to wildlife and tourism to the area.” She continued: “The street cleansing crew clear up litter and rubbish which accumulates in our town centres and across the district on a daily basis. In the past three months alone the crews have removed 1,400 black sacks of litter having cleaned 220 miles of roadside verge. Most litter is totally avoidable so we should all take responsibility to either take our rubbish home or find a bin and dispose of it responsibly.”
James Walker, Biffa’s manager at Cinderford said: “We hope this competition will raise awareness of the problem particularly amongst younger people and we will be inviting our local schools to get involved too. We are hoping for some really bright and colourful entries and look forward to the winning designs appearing on the trucks later in the year.”
The competition is open to children who live in the Forest of Dean and who are currently in primary education (key stage 2) or secondary education (key stage 3 and key stage 4).
Entry information is available on the Forest of Dean District Council’s website www.fdean.gov.uk, by emailing recycling@fdean.gov.uk or by calling the customer services team on 01594 810000.
The closing date for entries is 4.00pm on Friday 29 May 2015.