Green Community Champions wanted

Fly tipping at King Street South

Litter and recycling will be the centre of attention when Rochdale holds its first environmental forum in September.

The forum will look to find ways of encouraging residents to become more involved in looking after their immediate and wider environment.

As Christine Mathewson, the chairwoman of REAG, explained: “We are holding this public forum to pro-mote our work and that of other voluntary groups in Rochdale.

“We want people to get involved in keeping their own streets or shop fronts clean, ideally by identifying ‘community champions’ who can take the lead in their own areas, even on a street-by-street basis.

“This can make a massive difference to the way you feel about your own environment, and once you can see that the street is clean you will never want to see it full of litter again.

“We know it is one of the biggest complaints made by residents, and many people associate dirty streets with a higher likelihood of crime; we want to help turn this around.

“In clean alleyways children can play safely without the risk of injury or disease, and it will become clear to anyone visiting the town that the people of Rochdale have pride in where they live.”

This event will bring together national and local politicians, Rochdale Borough Council’s Environmental Management Service and the general public, and aims to increase the community’s awareness of their responsibilities to improve the litter and fly tipping situation in the borough.

Alongside presentations from a number of keynote speakers emphasising the efforts that local community groups have made to improve the image of the town, there will also be interactive games for adults and children aimed towards improving their knowledge of recycling.

The forum takes place between 10.30am - 1.30pm, Saturday 19 September, at the Castlemere Community Centre, hosted by the Rochdale Environmental Action Group (REAG).

Anyone interested in attending the forum, should either contact REAG secretary Ghulam Shazad:

info@reagroup.org.uk

07851 323612