Five tonnes of rubbish removed from South Shields seafront following the bank holiday weekend
A huge amount of rubbish has been removed from South Shields seafront after the busy bank holiday weekend.
South Tyneside Council is urging members of the public to “leave only footprints in the sand” after tonnes of rubbish was removed from the seafront.
With temperatures reaching 30°C, many flocked to the South Shields seafront over the course of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday, May 23 to Monday, May 25).
A busy bank holiday
The Council’s Streetscene team have worked throughout the weekend to ensure that bins have been emptied and rubbish removed from the beaches.
The local authority has praised those who took their rubbish home with them or put it in the bins provided.
However, due to some visitors to the seafront not complying with keeping the area tidy, South Tyneside Council’s staff removed five tonnes of rubbish on Tuesday morning (May 26).
South Tyneside Council has also stated that rubbish being left behind has also made it challenging for the Streetscene team to prepare public areas for the following day.
‘Leave only footprints behind in the sand’
As a result, the local authority has called on members of the public to respect the seaside and take all rubbish away with them or use the bins provided when visiting the borough’s beaches.
A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “It’s been a perfect bank holiday weekend for fun in the sun at our beautiful beaches.
“Streetscene have worked tirelessly across the weekend to make sure litter bins have been emptied, litter picked up off the ground and both beaches mechanically cleansed each day, we would like to thank the many visitors who supported us by either taking their litter home or utilising the many bins we provide.
“Unfortunately, some visitors were not as supportive and left litter behind.
“This makes the task of preparing areas for the following day even more of a challenge, you may have noticed it has taken the team a little longer to get areas back to the standard we expected.
“We wanted to let you know that this morning [May 26] our crews have collected five tonnes from litterbins and beach cleansing.
“Please leave only footprints behind in the sand.”
Members of the public can report littering in South Tyneside at: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/23195/Report-litter.