Cyprus is a beautiful island now! No, we’re not talking about the exotic landmass in the Mediterranean – not this time. We’re talking about the area around Cyprus DLR, which has become an attractive island in the middle of Olympic borough Newham. It’s all thanks to CleanupUK, a charity which encourages people to come together and clean up the area where they live on a voluntary basis. CleanupUK’s running a Beautiful Boroughs project which aims to have a special blitz in the five Olympic boroughs before this summer’s sporting bonanza. Already the charity has organised over 30 cleanups in these boroughs, involving over 500 volunteers and removing over 500 bags of rubbish from the environment.
CleanupUK ran their Cyprus campaign on 15th February. A total of 18 volunteers cleared 26 bags of rubbish away, filled with the usual fare of takeaway wrappers and drinks cans but also more unusual prizes – part of a bus stop, the innards of a washing machine, two shopping trolleys and a tarpaulin which had been hiding in a bush.
Local volunteers gave their reasons for helping on the Cyprus cleanup.
•Flora said: “it only takes two hours a month and you are talking to your community, getting other people involved and trying to make it nicer. This area is a lot nicer now, if you’d seen it a month ago… it was awful, there was litter everywhere.”
•Sonny said: “it helps out the community and shows the world that we are trying to make sure East London is the cleanest place to be this year”.
Natasha, who had travelled over from Old Street to help out at the cleanup, said, “it’s great for community spirit. I’m here because I wanted to make a difference. I’ve really enjoyed it, everyone is really friendly and it’s really well equipped. I’d definitely do it again”.
There’s an added bonus for residents living in the cleaner areas: a litter-free environment helps discourage crime and anti-social behaviour.
•If you would like to get together to form a group to give your area a makeover, contact Emma Harrington: email emma.harrington@cleanupuk.org.uk, tel. 07950-345 639.