News-Little litter picker given special honour

Alfie with his grandmother Gwyneth and Cllr Mark Wilkes

Little Alfie Underwood lives in Sacriston and loves nothing more than to go litter picking with his grandmother, Gwyneth Avery.

The pair spend hours keeping the village where they live clean and tidy, and telling the people they meet about how important it is not to drop litter.

When Alfie told his grandma that the top of his Christmas wish list was to have his own litter picker, Gwyneth got in touch with our civic pride team.

Early christmas gifts

The civic pride team, which helps communities make their neighbourhoods cleaner, were so impressed with young Alfie's efforts that they rewarded him with an early Christmas present.

The team gifted Alfie his own high-viz vest, a junior litter picker shaped like a raptor, a Bag o Hoop to help keep bin bags open, and a Tidy Ted story book with best wishes from the anti-litter mascot himself.

Alfie and his grandmother also took part in an hour-long litter pick with our Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, Cllr Mark Wilkes, where they collected two full bags of litter along a circular route.

Being part of the solution

Cllr Wilkes said: "It was an absolute delight to join Alfie on one of his litter picks where his passion for keeping his community clean really shone through.

"Tackling environmental issues such as street litter is not just about enforcement. We also need to encourage and educate everyone to 'do their bit' to make County Durham cleaner, safer and greener. It was heartwarming to see someone as young as Alfie thinking about the effects of littering on the environment and how, as a member of his community, he can be part of the solution."

Civic pride team

The civic pride team helps residents, community groups, schools and businesses take action to make their neighbourhoods a cleaner and greener place to live.

The team provides support to the community in a number of ways, including providing equipment for litter picking.

It also offers various educational packages for schools, youth groups and community groups free of charge.