The Loughton & Shenley Labour ward team embarked on their first community litter pick last weekend, picking up 12 sacks worth of rubbish in just one estate. 

Councillor Zoe Nolan and Labour Campaigner Shanika Mahendran were out in Oakhill on Saturday 22^nd January, and were joined by members of the local community to clean up the area. 

They spent hours strolling the streets, and discovered lots of used coffee cups, food packaging, dog waste, broken garden tools and even a large plastic pipe.

Following the success of the first community litter pick, the team are now planning to hold monthly events.

Labour Community Campaigner Shanika Mahendran, who lives in the ward, said: “Zoe and I often run into local residents when we’re out litter picking, and a few had said they’d like to join us. We thought this would be a great way to bring our community together while helping to keep our area looking nice. We’re really looking forward to the next one, so please come along if you’d like!”

Councillor Zoe Nolan (Loughton & Shenley Ward) added: “It’s important to take pride in where you live, so I am pleased that we were joined by residents to give Oakhill a good tidy up. A student from Hazeley Academy also joined us as part of his volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh, and we hope to see more young people get involved with litter picks in the future.”

The next ward-based litter pick is planned for Grange Farm on Saturday 19^th February at 2pm, meeting by the Dunthorne Way Co-op.