With the UK experiencing some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far, last week was the perfect time to test how much litter is left in our open spaces.

Haringey Council ordered two skips to be placed in Ducketts Common to establish how much waste was left on the ground.

After just 48 hours two skips were completely full and another two had to be ordered.

Within four days, four skips were filled to the maximum and this was another reminder of why people need to bin their rubbish or take it home with them to avoid our parks being flooded with rubbish.

The council spends half a million pounds each year, just picking up litter and disposing of rubbish from Haringey parks alone.

We know the vast majority of our fantastic residents visit our parks responsibly and clean up their rubbish – we want to say a huge thank you.

But there are also people leaving their litter behind and taking up vital council resources and funds. A new campaign has been launched called ‘Bin it or take it home’ and it is hoped residents using our open spaces will help to clean up the borough.

Cllr Kirsten Hearn, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Sustainability, said:

“It was incredible the amount of rubbish that was collected in just four days. If our bins are full, please take your rubbish home with you. If you can cut down on disposable waste that’s even better!

“If we continue as we are, we will either have to find more money to make sure the parks are cleaned, or they will become messy and unsafe places. Please help us to look after our beautiful open spaces. And a big thank you to those of you who already do.”

For more information on ‘Bin it or take it home’ please click here.