Litter roadshow comes to town

The Bin it! initiative encourages young people to work together to make a change to local areas and keep their environment tidy.

This year, the long-running project visited over 50 secondary schools including Carrickfergus Grammar School.

Developed by The Wrigley Company in partnership with specialist education consultancy Rapport, Bin it! is targeted at 11-13 year olds and is designed to explore the issues and impact of littering.

The team of actors aims to engage and educate young people, encouraging pupils to make positive choices about the responsible disposal of litter in their environment and urging them to take pride in their community.

Expressing his support for the programme was Councillor Noel Williams who was invited to the roadshow by the school’s Eco-Committee.

“As a member of the council waste sub-committee, I was keen to attend and support the Year 12 and 13 Eco Committee as they attempted to increase the awareness of the issues caused by littering; particularly the anti-social habit of discarding chewing gum on our street surfaces,” said Councillor Williams.

“You only have to walk around the town to see what a disgusting mess it makes of our new Public Realm Scheme.

“The ‘Bin It’ road show actors Lizzie Conroy and Stephen O’Riordan delivered a wonderfully humourous and interactive presentation that both engaged and educated the audience of Year 12 and 13 pupils.

“Being aware of the tens of thousands of pounds that council has to spend to clean up after irresponsible and inconsiderate litter bugs, I was delighted to support such an innovative approach to highlight the issue and I would commend the approach to all schools in the borough.”

Louisa Rowntree, Wrigley communications manager, added: “The Bin it! project has a long record of success and it is great that so many more schools have the chance to benefit from it this year.

“We hope that 2013 will be our most successful tour to date, reaching as many young people as possible and reinforcing the message of keeping our communities litter free, up and down the country.”