Huge clean up as 100 tonnes of litter left behind during Brighton Pride

Hundreds of thousands of people travelled to the city for Brighton Pride, with 57,000 at Preston Park for the Pride Festival which saw Britney Spears headline on Saturday (August 4).

But plastic bags, bottles, beer cans and sweet wrappers were just some of the items left behind on the streets, parks and beach.

Pippa Moyle, founder of City Girl Network, said: “It was a plastic pebbled beach. A single-use nightmare. We were drowning in packaging. And so much of that was totally unnecessary. Why couldn’t there have been a deposit scheme on reusable pint glasses? If glass was a danger to use, couldn’t we have used metal or plastic like festivals do?”

Pippa is hosting Trash Talk, a consumer-led national campaign investigating attitudes towards environmental issues, on Wednesday (August 15).

Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton Pride CIC, said: “Brighton Pride contributes to the clean-up of the city. Along with our partner agencies, we want to work even more closely with partners and businesses under a city-wide plan for major events, to share the rewards and the responsibilities for keeping Brighton and Hove safe, clean and welcoming to visitors and residents alike.”

Clear-ups after pride were delayed due to the high number of people who stayed out all night.

Brighton and Hove City Council said: “It is not possible to effectively clear litter in the middle of crowds and the teams needed people to disperse before some areas could be cleaned.”

Brighton Pride pays for the council refuse service CityClean to cleanse the city during the event.

Staff worked day and night, with the first shift starting at 5am on Saturday and the final shift ending at 3am on Monday.

The council said more than 100 tonnes of litter was collected – that amounts to more than 10,000 full bin bags.

The clean-up ended on Monday morning with the streets of St James Street being jet washed.

Cllr Gill Mitchell, chair of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Our street cleaners do a tremendous job to keep the city clean during the busiest weekend of the year.

“At all times of the year, we encourage everyone to support them by disposing of their litter responsibly, either by putting it in one of the litter or recycling bins around the city, or by taking any rubbish home with them.”

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