Pensarn Pickers

When did you first set up the Pensarn Pickers community group?

Back in 2021, a few of the residents began meeting up to clear up some of the increasing amount of rubbish that was being left on the beach and promenade. We contacted Keep Wales Tidy, and the local project officer supported us with guidance on health and safety and group constitution. We were also provided with more litter picking kit which has enabled more people to get involved in the weekly clean ups.

Have you faced any challenges? If so, how did you overcome them?

We hit a bit of a stumbling block when the rules around group insurance changed. We don’t do any fundraising activity and weren’t sure how to fund the group insurance costs.

Because we’re out litter picking every week, the businesses on the promenade all know us (we usually get together for coffee at the Beach Cafe after a litter pick), and they didn’t hesitate to help us out. Five of the businesses on the promenade clubbed together and were able to cover the cost of our public liability insurance, so we could continue our affiliation with Keep Wales Tidy.

Another challenge we came across was that we’d grown to the point where it was becoming difficult to keep lugging the equipment around every week! Carrying it all back and forth in various people’s cars was becoming a bit tricky, but our local project officer provided us with a sturdy outdoor storage container. Again, the local businesses were on hand to help us out and kindly allowed us to place it outside the business where we all meet each week. It makes it so much easier having it all easily accessible and organised!

What role has social media played in your success?

We set up the Pensarn Pickers Facebook page in 2023, which has helped us attract new members, as well as volunteers who want to come along to do ad-hoc litter picks now and then. It’s a great place to showcase the fabulous work that the volunteers do every week – as well as highlight the sheer volume of litter that gets left on our beautiful beach. We only have 130 followers at present, but it’s growing all the time. It’s great to see our posts being shared with the wider community and we believe that it’s helped us attract a broader demographic of volunteers.

To find out more about Pensarn Pickers visit the Facebook page.