A litter picking group in Cumbria's Eden Valley has revealed that it collected 740 bags of rubbish throughout 2025.
'Wombling Free Eden' was founded in February 2021 by Nikki Brabant with one simple goal - to help keep Cumbria litter free.
Nikki founded the group in response to the amount litter she was seeing on the roads around Cumbria and after discovering a similar litter picking group in Cornwall.
Within six weeks of starting the group, 'Wombling Free Eden' had almost 350 members and today has 837 members who actively participate in litter picks across the Eden Valley, from Kirkby Stephen to Penrith, Shap to Ullswater and major routes such as the A6 and A66.
"The people who actively litter pick in the group feel very strongly about litter in general but especially in an area known for it's beauty like Cumbria," Nikki said, speaking to the News & Star.
"The problem is two fold - we are perplexed as to why people litter in the first place. If there is a bin then use it but if not keep it with you until you can find a bin.
"Secondly we are disappointed in the lack of bins in laybys and the lack of time and resources that are dedicated to keeping our roadsides litter free by the organisations that are responsible for it."
Throughout 2025, 'Wombling Free Eden' collected 740 bags of litter from across the Eden Valley, a rise of nearly 200 bags compared to the 580 that were collected in 2024, with Nikki citing a rise in the amount of roadside litter.
Despite this year-on-year rise, the group remains committed to its mission and is set to work hard in 2026 to keep Cumbria tidy.
She said: "The main areas we have seen an increase in litter is the roadsides - laybys without bins are the worst.
"People do tend to use the bins when they are provided but they are not emptied enough and the litter quickly spreads.
"In laybys we find a lot of food and drink packaging from people who stop over in them overnight but the most disturbing trend recently is the amount of bottled urine and bagged human waste we find in laybys.
"Sometimes it is not even bagged - just left for others to step in.
"We will continue to litter pick as long as we need to and plan on some bigger events for people to join.
"We always do group litter picks around the time of The Great British Spring Clean and The Great Cumbrian Litter Pick.
"We will also continue to lobby organisations to provide more bins and to increase litter picks on our major road ways as most areas are too dangerous for volunteers to do."
Anyone who would like to get involved with the group is encouraged to visit the 'Wombling Free Eden' page on Facebook.
Share