As many of you know, the Friends usually do a monthly litter pick of Mile End Park on the second Sunday of every month. But we get requests to litter-pick for other days and times. Indeed, some of our regulars including Andy, Abdul and Iain enjoy “solo litter-picking”. So we’ve been looking at ways to open things up so that litter-picking kit is available more easily. Glasgow may have the solution.

Glasgow City Council has installed 64+ litter picking hubs across the city. The hubs are in venues like community centres, schools, coffee shops and neighbourhood projects. The hubs provide kits containing everything groups will need for a litter picking event, litter-pickers, disposable gloves, high visibility vests, bag hoops, refuse bags, and disinfectant wipes. The locations of all the hubs and information on how to access the equipment can be found on an interactive map on the council’s website at Community Hub Locations.

Glasgow also have introduced bespoke outdoor storage units. At a first glance these look like normal street bins, but they have been specifically designed to house a full litter clean-up kit. They are ideal for parks and open spaces where volunteers and businesses can have secure access to the contents quickly.

Other parts of the UK such as Leicester and Chester also have developed “self-service” litter-picking hubs.

Do you think this could work in Mile End Park?

Perhaps 3-4 hubs dotted around the park at Wennington Green, The Art Pavilion, Pipe Bridge, and by the gates near the Ragged School Museum? Keen individuals/groups could register with the Friends (or the Mile End Park Management) and then be given a code to access the kit.

Let us know what you think via email.