Herefordshire group turns litter lobbed from car windows into cash

Ross Community Litter Clean Up Crew has been using LitterLotto, which is a free mobile phone app that gives people the opportunity to win on the spot prizes and weekly jackpots for putting their litter in the bin.

Sandra Brown said the group has found laughing gas cannisters, rubbish piled up outside shops, and along the roads.

“I really hope more people get to know about LitterLotto as one of the big issues locally and nationally is litter being throw from car windows,” she said.

Small flytip found in ‘Kings Acre’ (upper) car park Picture: Ross Community Clean Up Crew (Image: Ross Community Clean Up Crew)

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“It is not usually safe or easy to litter pick these places, if people know their rubbish could win them money hopefully, they will be less likely to litter.”

She doesn’t use a litter picker or hi-vis as she wants to normalise litter picking, she said.

“I’ve even had a stranger tell me that they had litter picked because they had seen me do it,” she said.

“I am lucky enough to live and work in Ross, so I walker our dog and to work so I have plenty of opportunity.”

She found out about LitterLotto from the UK litter picking Facebook group and thought it sounded too good to be true.

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“I thought I should try it out because if it worked it would be a great tool to help reduce littering,” she said.

Ms Brown hopes she can motivate people to help clear up her loved town.

“I am very lucky I don’t need the money I win on the app, so I use my winnings to buy items for Ross Community Larder,” she said.

The larder is run by volunteers where people struggling can take in vouchers from local charities to get food.

But vapes are disposed of in a different way.

"If you find disposal vapes do not bag or bin them, as they need to be disposed of in the same way as a battery in a special battery recycling point, like they have a Morrisons," said Ms Brown.