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Torbay Council tackles beach litter! 

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(Last Updated On: July 23, 2020)

New signs and stickers will be appearing across Babbacombe Downs, Princess Gardens in Torquay, Preston beach promenade and Goodrington beach promenade in a drive to cut the amount of rubbish left by visitors.

Torbay Council’s new campaign, which was piloted during the summer of 2018 saw beach litter reduce by an average of 26%, and by as much as 59% on one beach, will be appearing at four key locations across Torbay and will be in place throughout the summer.

With lockdown measures continuing to be eased, the reopening of the tourism and hospitality sector and the school holidays upon us, we are expecting more and more local residents and visitors to be out enjoying our natural environment. With this in mind, all residents and visitors are asked to be more aware of their behaviour when it comes to littering and the negative environmental impacts litter has.

Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Culture, Torbay Council, said: “One of the most common issues is litter being left next to full bins, rather than finding an empty bin or taking visitors taking rubbish home with them. Litter left next to bins or on beaches is not only an eye sore, it attracts seagulls and other vermin and can get blown into the sea causing harm to our marine life. As a UNESCO Global Geopark and with our status recently being confirmed for a further four years, we have a responsibility to maintain our designation and to encourage everyone who lives in or visits the English Riviera to do their bit to prevent aquatic and marine pollution.

We want everyone to enjoy the English Riviera this summer and to be responsible, our message is simple when it comes to littering bin it or take it home”.

Look out for the eye catching materials and become a Litter Hero this summer, find a bin or take your take your litter home.

Bob Jope Healthwatch Torbay

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(Author)

Apart from five years studying in Oxford I’ve lived most of my life in London where for many years I was Head of English in a prestigious girls’ school, but since taking early retirement and heading West to be nearer to my two daughters - settling in Torbay with my wife, Anna, in 2011 - I’ve worked in the voluntary sector. I took on the role of Service Provider, for example, promoting the Red Cross Torbay Navigators Project, while now I’m a Trustee and part of the Media Team for our local Healthwatch. I’m a governor at Torquay Academy, too, giving me the chance to stay up to date with what’s happening in the world of education. Other interests, aside from friends and family, include art and art history, reading - from contemporary fiction and poetry to Elizabethan/Jacobean literature - history, politics, cooking, walking, and music, in particular Bob Dylan, the blues, and early Elvis. I love writing, too, with one novel published so far – Elvis in Wonderland – and another, Who’s There?, that still needs plenty of work!