Tonnes of rubbish left behind on Brighton beach by bank holiday revellers

Sunseekers left a huge 20 tonnes of waste behind on Brighton's beaches during the bank holiday weekend, the city council said.
Packed Brighton beach over the bank holiday (Photograph: Eddie Mitchell)Packed Brighton beach over the bank holiday (Photograph: Eddie Mitchell)
Packed Brighton beach over the bank holiday (Photograph: Eddie Mitchell)

And the council added that an estimated 300,000 people visited the city to enjoy the beaches, parks and soak up the sunny weather in what it called 'one of the busiest bank holidays on record'.

Cllr Gill Mitchell, chair of the city’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “It’s great to see so many people coming to our brilliant city and enjoying all the facilities we have.

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“But the city's popularity also means vast amounts more litter and waste being left behind on our beaches and dropped on our streets, and the demand on our street and beach cleaning teams was extremely high.”

The council received complaints about overflowing bins throughout the weekend, with CityClean, the council’s cleansing department, emptying them at least once daily - or twice daily in the hotter months.

“If a bin is full, we would ask people to find another one – there are lots of big black bins on the promenade – or take their rubbish home with them," Cllr Mitchell said.

“Leaving it on the beach or beside an overflowing bin is not acceptable. It’s everyone’s responsibility to keep our city clean.”

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This weekend saw the launch of the Brighton Festival with the Children's Parade on Saturday (May 5), the first weekend of the Brighton Fringe, Artists Open Houses, the Foodies Festival on Hove Lawns, plus the hottest spell of weather of the year so far over the three-day weekend, drawing visitors to the city's beaches.

Cllr Mitchell said: "We will be using extra staff resources by the end of May and beginning of June which will help with litter picking on the beach and street cleaning.”

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