Volunteers to get busy with New Forest spring clean weekend
A CAMPAIGN to eradicate single use plastics in Milford will be kick started with a community beach clean on Saturday amid a series of similar events around the district this weekend.
The Plastic Free Milford event, led by the parish council in partnership with local businesses, is inviting volunteers to meet outside the Needles Eye Café on Hurst Road at 10.30am.
Assistant parish clerk Sarah Pitt said: “It's not about removing all plastic from our lives. It’s about stopping using single-use plastic and changing the system that produces it.
"Being a plastic free community does not mean there is no plastic, it means we are starting work to turn the tide on plastic pollution.”
All equipment for the beach clean has been provided by the district council as part of its New Forest Spring Clean Campaign which is aimed at removing avoidable, throwaway plastic, from beaches, rivers and green spaces.
Sarah explained that becoming a plastic free community is also about bring different sections of the community together to promote a culture of cooperation and change.
The Milford Visitor and Business Group and the New Forest Paddlesport Company, based in the village, are also involved.
Sarah said: “We are also part of a national network of communities all doing the same, backed up by the national campaigns and actions of Surfers Against Sewage.
“Milford is linking with the Plastic Free Lymington group who are also organising local beach cleans on the same day at Lepe and Tanners Lane.”
Volunteers will be given litter picking equipment and bags but are advised to bring their own gloves.
For more information, email Sarah Pitt at sarah.milfordpc@btconnect.com or contact the Milford Parish Council office on 01590 644410.
Three other events are being held locally this weekend as part of the New Forest Spring Clean Campaign and volunteers are welcome to get involved.
On Sunday, Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Lymington will be cleaning up at Tanners Lane, East End, from 10am to midday.
The national park authority has organised pick-ups on Saturday at Lepe Country Park from 10am to midday, and on Sunday at Keyhaven from 10am to 2.30pm.
