Community action in Knowle West

By Noise Project Co-ordinator James Goodship

Bristol Noise charity is committed to serving in community with no strings attached.

This was realised through five days of community engagement projects involving 1,400 volunteers across Bristol for a week of the Easter holidays.

On Thursday 5 April, 40 projects took place across south Bristol with a hub of activities here in Knowle West.

Over the course of five hours, tonnes of waste was collected by hundreds of volunteers from parks, streets and houses to a central location behind Filwood Community Centre.  The Noise team is grateful for free waste collection from the site by the Bristol Parks team.

The Northern Slopes – while well used by people enjoying the outstanding views or using the steps to reach the Health Park and Bedminster – has suffered from neglect and fly tipping.

This was the largest project in the area – 40 volunteers collected several thousand litre bags of waste including hundreds of metal cans, glass bottles and plastic litter. Used hypodermic needles were removed by the team leader and disposed safely.

In 2016 Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees launched the Clean Streets Campaign – aiming to make them measurably cleaner by 2020. You can help by recycling responsibly and watching out in your neighbourhood; you can report fly tipping online:http://www.bristol.gov.uk/streets-travel/report-flytipping

For bulky household items it’s recommended you contact other organisations first – but if you are unable to drop these items off – the council will collect for a fee starting at £25 for one to three items. www.bristol.gov.uk/bins-recycling/bulky-household-item-collection

You can volunteer throughout the year with Bristol Noise  – see Facebook and Twitter. You can also offer support at Filwood Community Centre (@FilwoodCentre) or to the Northern Slopes Initiative on their frequent Green Gym sessions (northern-slopes-initiative.co.uk).