More 'self-discipline' needed as Bicester faces litter problem

Since lockdown lifted, people in Bicester have complained about rubbish strewn across parks, car parks, the parish church graveyard and open fields.

However the problem goes back to long before the lockdown.

Although Oxfordshire County Council, Bicester Town Council and Cherwell District Council are all responsible for keeping the town tidy in some way, residents say they need to do better.

They also feel there is a lack of ‘self-discipline’ amongst people to take waste home.

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Lisa Lloyd, who lives in the town, took her puppy for a walk on the KEA field off Ashdene Road on Monday when she saw what looked like the remains of a party.

She said on Facebook: “I don't have any objections to people having fun, but you must have taken all of the bottles, cans of alcohol and masses of plastic cups to the field in a bag, so please put them back in the bag before you leave and take them home or put the bag next to the bin.”

She said she ended up clearing the rubbish herself, as she did not want an animal or child to get hurt on broken bottles.

Jamie Jesset, 24, from Bicester, has taken it upon himself to start picking up litter across the area.

He has set up a volunteer group called Bicester Litter Pickers and goes to areas such as Bure Park Nature Reserve, Kingsmere Retail Park, the town centre and St Edburg’s Church to clear rubbish each week.

He said: “My aim is to encourage others to take more care of our town.

"I would love to see littering taught more at schools, saying the importance of the environment is to all living species, not just humans.

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“I feel the council need to do more and start giving people heavy fines and the Government should be stricter.”

One afternoon in Kingsmere last week, Mr Jesset said he managed to fill 10 bin bags on his own before going over to Bicester Park and Ride off the A41.

He said he was ‘ashamed’ to find only one bin overflowing with rubbish on site and litter strewn across the car park.

The park and ride is managed by Oxfordshire County Council. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of concerns raised about litter on Bicester Park and Ride and today have arranged for this to be cleared up. The site will be regularly monitored in future to ensure it is maintained to a standard one would expect.”

Community group Bicester Green Gym also does litter picks across the town. One of its volunteers, Bea Foster, says it is down to people to be more responsible for where they throw away their rubbish and the councils to empty bins quickly.

She said: “I think there are enough bins. They would need more work to empty if there were more. People just need self-discipline to take rubbish home if there is no bin or it is full.

“I personally think that Bicester litter hasn't been too bad considering people are out walking a lot more, but the councils seem to have struggled to empty bins promptly and there is an increasing prevalence of PPE thrown away.

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“Green Gym returns to known litter hot spots where it always seems to amass – Jarvis Lane and under the rail bridges for instance. We hope that by removing it people would be less likely to add to the pile. It is a job that no-one should have to do if they dispose of it responsibly.”

Bins in ‘open spaces’ in Bicester such as Bure Park Nature Reserve are owned and provided by Bicester Town Council.

Cherwell is under contract with the town council to empty these bins twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter and says it has continued to do this during lockdown.

Town council leader Richard Mould previously told this paper: "We know that litter is something that most of our residents abhor and in cooperation with Cherwell District Council something we deal with as soon as we are aware.

"I would ask everybody to use the bins provided and appeal to people not to deposit household or trade waste in the bins that are provided around the town."