This article was originally published in December 2023 in the local publication in Doncaster called The Hexpress. We are adding the article to our blog so that we can share it with the DCRT audience.

Hear from Anthony Cox about community litter picking, how Hexthorpe Park is linked to an international environmental scheme, and ways you can get to know your local Rivers Trust.

‘It’s interesting to see all the different things we collect.’ The volunteering officer for the Don Catchment River’s Trust (DCRT), Anthony Cox, says about litter picking at Hexthorpe Park. ‘Our next event at the park is on the 19th of December so it would be great to see people there.’ When asked about what these events are like, he says, ‘We go along the
river from Hexthorpe Park and collect litter. Anyone can join and get some fresh air, it makes a real difference.’

Whilst litter picking is a great short-term solution, Anthony addresses the worry that it doesn’t work in the longer-term, ‘People often say it’ll just all get dumped again, but we’ve found that, where we’ve done litter picking in the past, the places do stay cleaner for longer.’

Figure 1. Some quick statistics from a community litter pick at Hexthorpe Park. Data source: https://data.preventingplasticpollution.com/pages/results

Continuing to look at the bigger picture, Hexthorpe Park is Doncaster’s main site for the Preventing Plastic Pollution scheme. This is an international scheme that looks at plastic litter in rivers: how we can reduce the amount of it, and how it affects ecosystems. You can see here some of the data that was collected for the scheme (Figure 2.).

Figure 2. Most of the litter collected at Hexthorpe Park was made of plastic, with metal litter as the second most collected. Data source: https://data.preventingplasticpollution.com/pages/results

These litter picking events are also a part of the All Hands on the Don project, which is run by the local environmental charity DCRT. The project is National Lottery Heritage Funded and is here for people to increase their wellbeing and take community action through events surrounding the River Don.

The next litter picking event at Hexthorpe Park is on the 19th of December if anyone would like to join. There is also an online events calendar at https://dcrt.org.uk/events-calendar/ for future happenings. If you’re interested to find out more and to meet the DCRT team this upcoming weekend, they will be at the Twisted Skatepark Christmas event on the 16th of December.