Love Porthcawl, don’t trash it!

School children in Porthcawl want to unite the whole community to help tackle problems with littering on the town’s streets and beaches.

Five primary schools are taking part in a new project which will help pupils learn more about the negative impact of litter on the environment.

After surveying nearby streets to see what litter they find, and discovering what can and can’t be recycled, the children will then compare their haul to the litter they find on Porthcawl’s beaches.

The children will then create their own litter prevention slogans and posters, before a selection of the winning designs will be chosen to feature on bins and lamp-posts along the seafront and on the main roads into the town.

The pupils will also return to the streets and beaches to follow the same litter picking trail in June to see whether they find different types of materials in the summer compared to the winter.

The project is a joint collaboration between Bridgend County Borough Council, Keep Wales Tidy and Porthcawl Town Council, while Surfers Against Sewage and Sea Quest will also get involved to teach children about the harmful effects of littering on our beaches and oceans.

It’s a shocking fact that half of the Welsh population admit to dropping litter. It’s an issue that affects us all, and here in Bridgend County Borough we spend around £1.5m on picking up litter each year. Surely local taxpayers would rather help prevent litter in the first place, and spend money on other essential services instead?

While offenders can be fined, they need to actually be seen dropping the litter, so the best way to combat littering is to prevent the problem arising in the first place. And where better to start than in schools where children can be taught how to be responsible with their rubbish, and hopefully change the habits of any litterbugs in their families too.

The children’s litter prevention messages will soon be seen everywhere around Porthcawl. I hope that everyone will support the children’s desire to see their town being loved, not trashed.”

Councillor Hywel Williams, the Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council

Porthcawl Primary, Nottage Primary, West Park Primary, Newton Primary and St Clare’s School will all be taking part in the project.