Litter Picking Group
Rochester and Welling Ways
Saturday, 5th September 2026
As anyone who regularly uses these routes will know, the edges of the woodlands in this area are a real litter hotspot. This means our Litter Picking Group visits them more regularly than some of the other areas of the woodlands. On this occasion, the area to the right of Welling Way, heading towards Welling itself, was particularly badly affected.
Our regular team of nine volunteers was joined by a very welcome new volunteer, bringing the total for this session to 10. Together, they set about the task and completed another very successful litter pick.
The start of the session was made particularly dramatic by a bus which had caught fire on Welling Way! Eventually, three fire engines arrived, by which time the bus’s automatic extinguisher had, thankfully, done its job. We breathed a collective sigh of relief and got on with the task in hand!
Our photograph at the end of the session shows 12 bags of litter, a wheel/fan, a small number of vapes, and the usual couple of gas canisters. There was also a large pile of tyres dumped on Welling Way, which we will be reporting to RBG.
Once again, the Borough’s litter truck came during the session to collect our haul. This meant we didn’t have a final count at the end, for a team photograph showing the full amount collected, but we know there were at least 15 sacks in total.
Unfortunately, the three bags of car glass dumped in the shrubbery alongside Rochester Way, near Falconwood Station, which we reported two months ago, are still there. We will be chasing this up again.
A big thank you to all our volunteers for giving up their Saturday morning to help keep these well-used routes cleaner and more welcoming for everyone. And a special welcome to our new volunteer – we hope you enjoyed your first session with us!
