Local Mosque Community in UK Help Clean Up Rubbish from Streets
Fed-up members of a mosque in Coventry have resorted to clearing the rubbish-ridden streets of Foleshill.
Elderly members of Coventry's Masjid Zeenat ul Islam had been reporting seeing piles of rubbish on their walks to the mosque.
So local community group Rising Stars teamed up with the mosque, and local councillors, to give the streets a much needed clean.
The area's litter problem has worsened dramatically since the Coventry bin driver strikes, which are taking place five days a week until March.
"A lot of the properties on that stretch don't have front gardens, so the bins over spilling are a result of the bin men not coming around, so it was made worse, the level of mess, by the bin strike" Ayaz Maqsood told CoventryLive.
Mr Maqsood runs Rising Stars, a youth and community group that concentrates on the greater Foleshill area.
Masjid Zeenat ul Islam sits on the corner of Cambridge Street and Stoney Stanton Road, and is very popular.
But in that same area, is a shopping parade full of takeaways and shops, as well as homes with no front gardens, which leads to bins over spilling on the road.
"A lot of the older mosque goers were walking through rubbish, it is unsightly, it is not just about the mosque it is the local streets" Mr Maqsood told CoventryLive.
"It was brilliant, the local residents and the shopkeepers, curious to what we were doing, and when we explained, they thanked us for it, a lot of the time, they were prompted to clear their own gardens after seeing us.
"The comments from the shop keepers were really nice as well, they were saying it is really welcome, the streets are getting really filthy, it is nice to be doing something, another comment we got was 'you should have told us about it we would have joined in'," Mr Maqsood said.
Mr Maqsood said the issue of street litter has got worse in recent weeks with the on-going bin strikes, resulting in litter spewing from over filled bins and an increase in fly tipping.
Coventry City Council has brought in private contractors for collections until a resolution is found with striking bin drivers.
This is not the first instance of community activism in response to the ongoing bin driver strikes.
In one day, 30 bags of rubbish were collected across 10 streets.
Source: Coventry Telegraph
