Abe’s Larne litter pick volunteers fill 100 bin liners

A team of volunteers rallied by Larne man Abe Agnew rolled up their sleeves for a litter pick.

They responded to an appeal by civic-minded Abe who has been on a mission to clean up the streets of the town.

Abe has been clearing rubbish in the east Antrim town for the past few years with just his dog Bobby for company.

He says that on average he lifts between 15-20,000 pieces of litter each week and the number of discarded masks, wet wipes and tissues is increasing.

Bottles, tin cans and fast food wrappers are the most commonly discarded items.

During one clear-up, he lifted more than 100 bottles filled with urine at the harbour foreshore, including a five-litre bottle.

“It is a protected area. There is a bird sanctuary. It should be the crown jewel of the town. It is just filthy and the town is filthy from the harbour to Kilwaughter.”

At the weekend, he was assisted by a crew of “eco rangers” who have come together to lend a helping hand.

Discarded items again included bottles of urine, a pet carrier, wheels and tyres, supermarket trolleys, old plastic election posters, garden planters, lifebelts and traffic cones.

Abe, a retired paramedic, said:  “During the last five to 10 years every convenience store, filling station and supermarket have become takeaway food vendors and coffee bars.

“This has led to a surge of new pollution/litter right across the Province.

“On roads, verges and green spaces the amount of plastic sandwich wrappings, polystyrene food trays, plastic lined coffee cups are a common sight.

“The silent addiction of our youth to energy drinks in cans and plastic bottles has also caused a significant increase in the amount of discarded rubbish.

“The inability of some people to walk more than 100 yards without the comfort of having a throwaway plastic bottle of water also adds to the burden of pollution.

“None of these items mentioned are bio-degradable and will contaminate the environment for centuries causing untold damage to the environment and wildlife, which should be our heritage.

“Lots of people profess a love for our country,  but on a daily basis pollute our environment by tossing contaminates in public open spaces

“There is a lack of a deterrent in place for the polluters in our midst. Official bodies turn a blind eye and tolerate the blight of pollution.

“As a society, we need to have adequate deterrents in place, with realistic consequences enshrined in law, and a change of attitude of all official organisations’ apathy, in tackling the ever-growing problem of pollution by litter.”

Abe,  whose litter picking effort during Covid has been recognised by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, is urging people in other towns and village to form their own eco rangers’ group.

He added: “We stand ready to offer help and guidance to civic-minded people all over the country to form their own eco ranger group.

“We can be contacted on Facebook page Eco Ranger Larne Official page, or email [email protected].”

Click here to read: Retired Larne paramedic lifting thousands of litter items each week along town’s ‘filthy’ stretch

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

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