Litter Picking – help keep Oxshott tidy

As you drive around the Village you may have seen cream-coloured bags left at the sides of the roads. This is not due to fly-tipping, nor to the Wombles of Wimbledon (which of course ages me) moving south, but more likely the consequence of Oxshott’s volunteer Litter Pickers clearing the Village of litter. The bags are full of rubbish collected by the Litter Pickers and left for Joint Waste Solutions who are notified and who come and collect them. Many of you will assume you pay your Council Tax for this purpose – however at times such as this when resources are stretched, it’s unlikely you will get Joint Waste Solutions (Amey) to focus on the outlying areas of the Village – that is when the volunteer Litter Pickers come into their own.

The Oxshott Village Litter Team focuses on the main arteries into the Village – i.e. both ends of the A244 plus Fairoak and Blundel Lanes. We estimate that 90 percent of the litter has been discarded from vehicles – the usual débris consists of Red Bull cans, Costa Coffee take-away cups, and rubbish from take-out meals. 

We do a quarterly Litter Pick and, in addition, volunteers pick when they can.

Overflowing litter bins on Oxshott Heath are also an increasing problem, especially during lockdown with the much-greater numbers of visitors including many who are not local.  The photo shows an overflowing bin near the concrete-bridge over the railway connecting to Sheath Lane.

To report overflowing bins please see the Elmbridge BC website as follows:

• For bins on streets, please click on this link – overflowing bins – streets

• For bins in parks and green spaces, this link will take you to a map where you can report the problem – overflowing bins – parks.  However, this works only for the areas coloured green on the map, and you will notice that there are almost none of those in Oxshott.

• To report an overflowing bin on Oxshott Heath such as the one shown, for example, you need to go to this EBC webpage, where you should select “Commons” in the drop-down box, and then you will be advised to send an email to the Countryside Team –  so you can save time and just use this link – countryside@elmbridge.gov.uk.

If you are interested in volunteering and making a difference across Oxshott please contact FEDORA at communications@fedora.org.uk. Bags and FEDORA safety vests will be provided but you would need to provide your own gloves and litter-picker. Each person is assigned an area and starts at the time they wish and at 11 a.m. we meet for coffee at Munch and Wiggles. We are a convivial group of community-minded people who would love to have you join us.