The Trowbridge and St Mellons Litter picking group ‘welcomes everyone who wants to take part’
THEY are the army of eager volunteers who selflessly give up their time for free with one common aim… to keep their neighbourhood free of litter.
Week after week, and in all weathers, members of the St Mellons Clean Up (SMCU) group meet armed with bin bags to clear up what others leave behind.
Many of them say the problem is getting worse, so I picked up a bin bag, popped on a hi-viz jacket and joined the volunteers on an organised litter-pick. A total of 76 bags of rubbish were collected…
Rain or shine people continue to show up to help out in our community and I’m very grateful for each of them
Vice Chair of the SMCU
What is the St Mellons Clean Up group?
SMCU is a litter-picking group affiliated with Keep Wales Tidy (KWT). Members have been active since 2019, when the then all-woman committee of three formed the group in May of the same year. This is according to the vice chair, who was not comfortable with being named in The Cardiffian.
The group also had “help and advice” from the Cardiff Project Officer for KWT Gareth Evans, according to the group’s vice chair.
SMCU has helped pick litter from the many streets and greenery in St Mellons. This article will dive into some of the personalities behind the group.
I’m sort of like a council assistant but voluntary. I don’t get paid for it, I just love it!
Michael Price, SMCU volunteer
Before the group formed
A different group called the Cath Cobb Environmental Group was active in the area before. They were more conservation-focused but did some litter-picking, Cardiff Park ranger Rhodri Hughes told The Cardiffian.
He said: “They sort of disbanded just before COVID. Well, not officially disbanded, but they sort of wrapped up a little bit.”
The need for litter-picking in the area led to the vice chair getting involved. She went to a St Mellons litter-picking event hosted by Cardiff Rivers Group in 2018.
She said: “I got very fed up of seeing litter whilst walking locally, especially in our green spaces. I thought, I can do something.”
I feel education is key, and more people need to think about what they are doing and understand what their actions are affecting and the harms they are causing
vice chair of the SMCU
SMCU’s vice chair had been contacted by KWT after she had posted photos from a solo litter-pick at Hendre Lake in 2018. She continued to litter-pick, after becoming a litter champion for the organisation.
Hendre Lake was a big focus for her at the time. The “rubbish is not fair or safe for the wildlife and it’s harmful to the soil and waterways,” she said.
“We became a constituted group and borrowed kit from KWT until we had funds to purchase our own.”
This was confirmed by Gareth Davies, the Cardiff Project Officer of KWT. He wanted to emphasise that it was a “big team effort” with help from Cardiff Council and Cardiff Rivers Group.
SMCU now have eight committee members and an increasing number of volunteers.
Some of the personalities
Family man and Rumney resident Michael Price is a shining star in the ranks of the SMCU’s volunteers. Michael, 39, has been doing some form of solo volunteering since 2014.
Michael had been litter-picking, cutting back bushes and clearing areas with a brush cutter.
He decided to join the SMCU soon after it was formed, dissatisfied with the lack of participation in litter-picking in his own area.
Michael said: “I like socialising. I love meeting new people, it’s brilliant, and I do loads within the community, within the CF3 area.”
“I’m sort of like a council assistant but voluntary. I don’t get paid for it, I just love it!”
Sometimes residents are very friendly, and other times react strangely to Michael. In his view this is partly because wearing a yellow/orange vest makes some residents believe that he is from the council.
St Mellons is a nice place to live, it would be even nicer if the minority could be a bit more responsible with their litter.
Alena, committee member of the SMCU
Alena, 66, started volunteering with the SMCU in June 2021. She had retired from her role as a clinical auditor in the NHS the same year. She joined the committee in September 2022, and stores the group’s equipment.
Alena, who has lived in St Mellons since 1985, was keen on joining the SMCU when she first saw them on the local Tesco car park in 2019.
She said: “Volunteering with the group has been beneficial for me.”
Alena has been able to clean the places around her and made friends with those “who also want to make a difference”.
She is confused by the amount of “dumped bags of perfectly good toys and clothes.”
Recently, she and her husband have seen an increase in the amount of Nitrous oxide canisters being thrown out.
“From July to December we have picked up 507 canisters,” she said, from the litter picks they have done, either by themselves or with the SMCU. These go to Cardiff Rivers Group, who can “make them safe and get some scrap value for them,” she added.
I just enjoy it and feeling that in some way I’m helping make a positive difference.
Image: Paul Twyman (pictured) at Cath Cobb Woods. Credit: SMCU.
Paul Twyman, 66, is a “semi-retired former chartered management accountant.” He was made redundant 14 years ago, having since done three part-time admin jobs.
Paul is a volunteer warrior outside of his current “six weeks or so a year self-employed work” for the National Cycling Network.
He volunteers one “day a week at the foodbank warehouse, a day a week with Cardiff Conservation Volunteers, roughly an evening a week at the Millennium Centre, about once a month with Cardiff Rivers Group, and occasionally I join St Edeyrns litter-picking group and the Coed Caerdydd tree nursery in Forest Farm”.
Volunteering has helped his “mental and physical health and I just enjoy it and feeling that in some way I’m helping make a positive difference.”
“From July to December we have picked up 507 [nitrous oxide] canisters,” – Alena, SMCU Committee Member
How bad is littering in the area?
The perception from almost everyone I spoke to within the SMCU is that the problem is getting worse.
Michael finds that an area he’ll go over “will stay clean for a couple of days” before returning to how messy it was before.
Alena said: “I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot more fly tipping around St Mellons, particularly during the last few months.
“St Mellons is a nice place to live, it would be even nicer if the minority could be a bit more responsible with their litter.”
The vice chair of SMCU has a lot of concern for the “many issues that need looking over”.
“I feel education is key, and more people need to think about what they are doing and understand what their actions are affecting and the harms they are causing,” she said.
But Paul said: “I don’t really see much change over the past four or so years.
“I didn’t pick before Covid hit but the areas that were bad when I started are still the bad ones now. More CCTV and well-publicised enforcement and fines might help.”
However, KWT has seen a decrease in all forms of litter in Cardiff through their yearly street cleanliness surveys.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said litter “makes areas of the city look unsightly, is completely unacceptable and is unnecessary”.
They added: “A number of years ago, the council introduced the Love Where You Live Campaign, to create and engage with community groups across the city.
“Through this initiative, several voluntary groups have been set up; and carry out voluntary litter picks in different areas of the city. The council provides the equipment, the bags and collects the waste afterwards to ensure that it is disposed of correctly.
“Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own litter and to dispose of it responsibly.”
It’s clear that the St Mellons Clean Up volunteers care deeply about the environment around them.
They all remain hopeful and come “rain or shine people continue to show up to help out in our community and I’m very grateful for each of them,” said the vice chair.
They welcome new volunteers all the time. The SMCU are active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor.
