THE ISSUE of litter dumping in Calstock has escalated to what one resident calls a ‘litter epidemic.’

Calstock resident, Mark Gorman who has taken matters into his own hands by removing the discarded rubbish says the problem is ‘definitely getting worse’ and is calling on the local parish council to take action.

Mark who has lived in Calstock for around 30 years says the problem of litter dumping has got progressively worse in the past two years. Mark who regularly performs litter picks in the area by his home near St. Andrew’s Church explained he has now had to up his litter picking endeavours to once a week to keep up with the influx of waste.

‘It’s become a real problem’, said Mark.

‘There used to be bits of litter before but now there’s tonnes of it.

‘I have to litter pick once a week to stop the area becoming a rubbish dump.’

The affected area Mark patrols is Sandways level crossing heading towards the parish church.

Mark explained that he is frequently removing bagfuls of rubbish.

Mark shared images from his latest litter haul on Facebook.

Two bags of rubbish were removed that contained more than 30 beer cans, plus food wrappers, drinks bottles and floor insulation, with one of the bags being found strewn in a nearby hedge.

In his Facebook post, Mark stated that ‘the dumping of litter in our country lanes is reaching a ridiculous level.’

Mark feels that the issue is getting out of hand and is getting fed up with having to deal with the consequences of these irresponsible acts of littering in the village.

‘I find tonnes of McDonald’s wrappers, when the nearest McDonald’s is in Saltash,’ he said, adding that the problem seems to be worse towards the end of the week and when the weather is better.

‘It looks as if people are dumping rubbish out of cars’, explained Mark.

‘Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the days when all this litter gets dumped.

‘It’s usually dumped at night which makes it harder to see who’s doing it, but I’m guessing it’s the same people.

‘Also, on days when the weather has been bad there’s not as much, but if I’m picking a bagful every week, it’s getting beyond a joke.’

Mark also proceeded to explain that other residents are also having to take action to mitigate the litter problem.

‘I speak to other people that are litter picking all round the parish,’ said Mark.

‘If I’m not the only person that’s doing it, that just shows how much litter there is.

‘I think it’s a problem in the whole of Calstock.’

Mark is calling on the parish council to take some action to resolve the issue.

‘I’m wondering if they could put up a camera to catch them in the act,’ said Mark.

Another suggestion put forward by Mark was for the council to organise occasional litter picks. He also added that the only bin in Calstock is at the bottom of the village.

Mark said: ‘Tavistock has street sweepers, out here there’s nothing.

‘We don’t want to live in a rubbish dump.’

Calstock Parish Council said they were not aware of the issue and do not have any comments.