Manaton resident leads litter-picking campaign to clean up the streets

A local resident is making a real impact in his community by encouraging others to join in his litter-picking efforts.

Robin Moore, 60, a retired former fishery manager from Manaton, first began his mission to tackle litter back in 1998 while managing a fishery in Kent.

He recalled from his fishery days: “I had a skip for the anglers' rubbish. One day, I noticed there was litter both inside the skip and scattered all around it. It really annoyed me, so I decided to tidy up, making sure the area was clean and raked. While drinking my tea, I happened to watch an angler walk towards the skip to dispose of his rubbish. He was about 20 feet away when he threw his bag of rubbish – but it missed and fell on the ground outside the skip. The angler noticed it was the only piece of litter on the ground, so he walked over and put it in the bin. That’s when I realised there’s a strange psychology around littering – his rubbish stood out, and he felt guilty for it.”

Eight years ago, Robin moved to Manaton from Surrey, where the verges were often covered in litter, and quickly realised that the parish had a strong culture of picking up rubbish during dog walks. 

However, he knew more needed to be done to keep the area looking pristine.

He said: “It was clear to me that everyone picks up litter on their dog walks, but if we want to prevent this small corner of England from looking like Surrey, we have to take action ourselves.”

To help keep the parish clean, Robin has organised an annual litter pick when the vegetation is at its lowest.

“The turnout can range from just two or three people to five,” Robin explained.

“But this year, thanks to a parish-wide email, we had 17 people show up. It was fantastic because we managed to get everything done in just one day.”

Robin shared with The Moorlander: “You know what’s really surprising? People genuinely enjoy doing it. I can’t explain why, but it’s surprisingly cathartic. It’s almost relaxing, and people say it makes them feel good. People driving by either wave or stop to chat, and some even offer to drop our full bags off in the bins. In the first two years, when turnout was low, I ended up doing about 80 per cent of it myself.”