18 retail staff teams pick up 440 bags of litter in east Antrim operation

The team from Eurospar Linn Road in Larne focused on a stretch of the A8 - the main road into the town - filling 135 bags full of rubbish abandoned by litter louts, while a team from Spar Kilwaughter, also working on the same road, lifted 45 bags.

In just one month, teams from over 100 of the retailer’s stores in Northern Ireland have lifted 1,626 bags of litter. This included 18 store teams litter picking from Whiteabbey through Mallusk to Ballyclare, out to Larne and from Carrickfergus back along the Loughshore, collecting an eye watering 438 bags of rubbish between them.

Some of the more surprising items which were recovered during the effort included two bicycles and a scooter, picked up by the team at Greystone in Antrim.

Spar NI and Henderson Group, which owns the brand in Northern Ireland, has invested in kits for each store. These include large bin bags, pickers, high visibility vests and gloves, as well as in-store signage to encourage shoppers to use the bins provided. The signage is dotted throughout stores, but prominently displayed beside high litter generating products such as plastic bottles, to continue to remind shoppers to dispose of their waste appropriately.

In recent months, a total of 175 stores have completed a clean-up in their local neighbourhoods. The stores will continue to use their kits regularly, and will hold events for all to get involved, annually.

Serial Offenders

Bronagh Luke, head of corporate marketing at Henderson, commented: “Unfortunately, littering continues to be a plight within every community in Northern Ireland, and there has been little evidence of behavioural change in those who are the serial offenders.

“Littering simply should not be as big a problem as it is. We are very proud of the communities within which our stores operate, and we hope this initiative will encourage a change of behaviour when it comes to disposing of waste, particularly from purchases made at our stores.”

The retail coffee brand Barista Bar has committed to numerous litter picks throughout Northern Ireland. In 2019, it launched its own reusable cups and there are now almost 100,000 of these in use in Northern Ireland.

Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, brand manager at Barista Bar, said: “We all have a responsibility help address the issues around litter and we have dedicated a huge amount of time and investment in encouraging our shoppers to invest in a reusable cup to try and make a positive social impact in the communities in which we operate.

“Our next litter pick with Walk NI takes place on Friday 21 July and will be planning more alongside our on-going partnership with the Eco Rangers in Larne. This is a long-term plan for Barista Bar and we hope consumers choose the more sustainable way to enjoy their coffee, and change behaviours to tackle the litter problem in Northern Ireland.”