Water firm workers mop up rubbish in volunteer litter pick
Water firm workers who volunteer their time have collected their biggest haul of litter yet during a beach clean in North Shields.
More than 20 members of Northumbrian Water’s engineering team spent around four hours clearing rubbish from the coastline between North Shields Fish Quay and Tynemouth Priory – part of the firm’s ‘Just an Hour’ volunteering programme
Altogether, they filled over 30 bin bags, clearing up items like cigarette butts, crisp packets and old fishing nets.
It’s the fifth time that the team have taken part in an annual beach clean in the area - collecting around 120 bags of litter in total over the past five years.
Kevin Prior, principal engineer at Northumbrian Water, said: “Many of the team live near to Tynemouth beach, so we wanted to be able to give something back to the community and help protect our local environment.
“It was only a short amount of time that we spent there but this year’s clean-up was one of our biggest yet, filling around 30 bags with a variety of rubbish.”
He added: “We mainly found cigarette ends, food packaging and plastic bags, but a few years ago we found a dismantled conservatory which was pretty strange.
“We all care about our region’s coastline and we’re proud to play a small part in helping to keep it looking its best.”
Northumbrian Water's Just an Hour volunteering programme gives employees dedicated time off to support causes and projects in their local communities.
Northumbrian Water supplies 2.7 million customers with water and sewer services in the North East.