Published: 06/02/2025
We have a small but dedicated team of Cleansing Operatives who’re are always busy keeping the city’s parks clean and tidy.
On a day-to-day basis the team undertake all sorts of works, from removing litter and refuse to clearing post-flood debris, cleaning graffiti, repairing and repainting furniture, leaf-blowing, or even dredging weed from lakes. They cover a lot of ground, and walk more than 20,000 steps on an average day.
We removed around 100 tonnes of rubbish from Milton Keynes’ parks last year. That’s more than 11,000 bags of refuse from bins, litter picking activities, and fly-tipped waste illegally dumped on parkland. Most of the litter was food and beverage related; glass bottles, plastic bottles and tops, tin cans, and paper/cardboard (from convenience and fast-food packaging). All of which damages the landscape and can be hazardous for wildlife as well as park users.
In autumn last year, following unprecedented flooding in Ashland, the team dived in to clean up. They donned their waders to dredge - by hand - one of the urban ponds and spent several days removing weed by the truckload. Amongst the weeds were a few surprises, including a child’s three-wheeled scooter. But the result? A healthy pond, and a bonus for the Trust’s sustainable practices as the weeds were repurposed as tree mulch at Middleton Wood Meadow.
The cost of keeping the city’s parks clean and tidy has risen to around half-a-million pounds annually. We are grateful to the support we have from volunteers and community groups who also help with keeping the MK’s network of parks clean and tidy.
Whilst there are strategically located bins in some parks, we ask that visitors do not to leave litter next to bins that are full as this can harm local wildlife and the environment. To install and maintain lots more bins would be costly and detract from funds better spent improving the parks for the benefit of all. Therefore, we asks visitors to please take their litter home.
Find out more about our litter and cleansing work.