Litter survey finds 8,000 pieces of junk on Ipswich streets

A shocking 8,000 pieces of rubbish have been found in Ipswich in 15 days – in a comprehensive litter survey revealing the true scale of junk on our streets. 

Rubbish Walks founder Jason Alexander completed his Rudolph Litter Survey in the town during December, picking up rubbish on the 184km route following the town’s popular Rudolph Run. 

Over the 15 nights, he collected 8,329 pieces of litter, which even included dumped pregnancy tests and parking fines amongst the tonnes of plastic bottles and packaging. 

He said the 551 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) - which included 357 face masks, 106 gloves and 88 wet wipes – was “scary on a number of levels”. 

Mr Alexander, who has previously railed against increasing amount of PPE litter during the pandemic, also said he was surprised to find 263 elastic bands. 

“I didn’t expect to find that many,” he said. 

Mr Alexander sorted the litter he found into 17 different categories and said: “I’m pretty sure there’s never been a litter survey of this scale completed in Ipswich.”