A major litter pick in the North Lakes left volunteers shocked over the amount of human waste found behind trees in popular public places.
Those taking part in the Derwentwater Clean Sweep – The Sequel had the unenviable task of cleaning up after visitors using the Lake District as a toilet.
For one day volunteers did a sweep of the entire shoreline on both sides of Derwentwater and up the Borrowdale Valley. The whole of the area was split up into 35 zones with a team of two to six people covering each.
“The litter consisted of the usual drink containers, sweet wrappers and disposable barbecues – but this year there was a significant increase in human poo and used loo roll as well as dog poo bags,” said one of the organisers.
One of the worst affected places was Surprise View where human faeces and toilet paper were found behind a number of trees.
“On a more positive note it is good to see and hear about quite a few people who regularly pick up litter while out walking,” added the organiser.
Volunteer Fliss Knox, who with others covered an area around the Isthmus, filled a bag of recycling a second of general rubbish and a third with the contents of a bin bag.
Tara Vallente, of Keswick, was pleased there was not a lot to pick up from Bowderstone car park and the road up to Seatoller, But she said there were a number of used poo bags left behind and an empty vodka bottle.
Groups like the Lakes Plastic Collective have taken part in regular clean-up operations since the pandemic, due to large numbers of tourists travelling to the area.
In March volunteers at Thirlmere found tents and rubbish abandoned, ahead of lockdown travel rules being eased.
This week a clarion call has gone out to the public and community volunteers to rally together for the 2021 Great Cumbrian Litter Pick, co-ordinated by conservation charity Friends of the Lake District.
The county-wide litter pick takes place on May 21 and 22 and is an opportunity not only to clear up the county but spread the message ahead of the busy tourist season that everyone who visits should take their litter home and leave no trace.
Forty litter picks have been registered already which already equals last year’s number.
Organiser Ruth Kirk said: “We need people who visit, and live in, the Lake District and Cumbria to know that in the majority of countryside locations, no-one is paid to pick up the litter that people carelessly discard.
“There is an army of selfless volunteers among our communities who tidy up after others day in, day out from the goodness of their hearts. But they shouldn’t have to.
“Many of them are joining forces for The Great Cumbrian Litter Pick and we want to say a huge thank you to them and highlight their efforts, but also to ask people — please — to stop littering these spectacular, fragile landscapes.”
Anyone can take part in The Great Cumbrian Litter Pick either by registering their own community or individual litter pick, or by joining one of the many organised picks around the Lake District.
For more information and to register visit www.thegreatcumbrianlitterpick.org.uk