A manager of a Thai resturant in East Twickenham spends three to four days picking litter from parks and the Thames to encourage locals to do the same.
Mark Hardy started the clean-ups three years ago. He aims not just to pick up litter but to spread the word to other groups so they can help the efforts.
Him and his team from the Thai Upon Thames resturant have been clearing local areas across Richmond, Hillingdon and Hounslow.
In his clean-ups Mark has found several bikes, shopping trolleys, typewriters and most shockingly, a gun.
“The shotgun I found was in Cranford in the wood country park. It was in a little stream that had dried up. I thought ‘whoa this was an old thing’,” he said.
The idea came about after Mark saw a dad and daughter doing their own clean-up and wanted to get involved.
Mark said: “I wanted to add on to the effort. I went for a walk with a friend and it was so easy for me to come back with gloves and a bag. I loved seeing the before and after.”
Mark admits he is just as happy to go to the clean-ups alone as he is with a group of volunteers. Often Mark does go on his own but has four volunteers who often aid the effort in some of the cleans.
Their efforts don’t just help the community. Mark said it is also helping his business.
“It gives back to the customers, the community, the environment. People come to the restaurant and say that they are here because of the clean-ups, and add that otherwise they would go to Rosa’s Thai,” Mark said.
Sign cleaning was added into the efforts more recently. Mark said: “It is the obvious thing that is left out, it makes sense to clean that too.”
Mark maintains that the collation of rubbish can happen anywhere and the work tidying up is important everywhere.
He said: “It can happen in Richmond, in Barnes, anywhere, it is not a unique thing to certain locations.
“Richmond for example is covered in nappies and it is a well to do area, there were bags and bags and bags of litter.”
The team have started filming their clean-ups and think that this is what is helping spread the word to pick up litter in the local area.
Mark hopes his work will spread the message further. He has managed to get other groups out cleaning up again, such as St Margarets who before his involvement went out very sporadically, now it is monthly.
He has also set up community clean-up days which will see local businesses get stuck into the initiative.
“You find what needs to be done and do it. I have got other groups started up again such as St Margarets who are out a once every month,” Mark said.
“I hope people eventually are going to be more concerned about litter. If people can help in that respect it will help for tidier towns.”
Featured image credit: Thai Upon Thames
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