Louts leave 256 tonnes of rubbish – the weight of 20 London buses – strewn across Royal Parks after lockdown is eased

By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter

Royal Parks staff said they have “never seen anything like it,” as they tackled a staggering 258 tonnes of rubbish left behind by visitors in June.

That’s equivalent to the weight of 20 new London buses, or 74 elephants, and 32 per cent more than they collected across the eight Royal Parks in June last year.

The increase follows the easing of lockdown when people could meet friends outside their household as well as very warm weather, and staff are launching an appeal encouraging people to “Love Your Parks”.

The extra rubbish means overall The Royal Parks staff spent 11,078 hours, or the equivalent of 15 months, picking up litter left on the grass.

This is before they add in the time they’ve spent emptying bins – including the extra bins designed to cope with the increased number of visitors.

The Royal Parks is launching a ‘Love Your Parks’ campaign to encourage people to enjoy the benefits of being outside and helping to keep the parks in tip top condition.

Tom Jarvis, director of parks, said: “It’s been truly fantastic to see more people enjoying our parks and getting closer to nature for a spot of r&r, to keep fit or to spend time with family and friends in the fresh air.

“We’ve had lots of really nice messages from people thanking us for keeping the parks open and telling us how the parks have been a lifeline for them, particularly for those without gardens.”

However he said the extra litter is a problem, adding: “We’ve never seen anything like this before. Every day we wake up to unprecedented levels of litter, with PPE, pizza boxes, plastic bags and picnic scraps strewn all over the grass.”

It means staff at Regent’s Park dealt with 58 tonnes of rubbish – the equivalent of 17 elephants or five London buses – and spent 1,853 hours collecting litter.

Park manager Nick Biddle said: “There’s so much of it, just being left on the ground, not in the bins. It’s disappointing.”

He urged people to take the packaging they brought with them away with them.

Pictured top: Rubbish in St James’ Park