Backstreet Rubbish Apocalypse in Newcastle as Students Leave For the Summer

Backstreet Rubbish Apocalypse in Newcastle as Students Leave For the Summer

Snowmen, Christmas trees, pillows, and underwear might sound like a particularly unusual sale at Next, but it’s actually some of the rubbish that was left behind in the backstreets of Newcastle after students from the City’s two universities moved out for the summer.

The streets of Heaton and Jesmond, where most of the students reside, were left looking apocalyptic with overflowing wheelie bins, bin bags, and piles of random waste.

Newcastle City Council said it had allocated extra resources to clean up the affected areas. While some residents point the finger at students for the mess, others said they had seen cleaners who had been in to properties on behalf of landlords dumping rubbish in the city’s back lanes.

The Jesmond Resident’s Association said that rubbish in the back lanes is a problem at this time of year and that residents were concerned about the impact it has on health and safety. A spokesperson for the association added that another issue is that when people know the students are moving, they come to have a rummage through the bins and see what they have left behind.

Not everyone has a problem with the students

But not everyone has had a problem with the students. The British Heart Foundation said it has been ‘blown away’ by the surge in designer clothing donations from students. Gucci, Prada, and Juicy Couture items have been handed in to sell in their stores in the city. A spokesperson for the charity said that it’s always grateful for any donation, whether big or small, and added that the charity has a collection bank on campus where students can leave goods they wish to donate.

Newcastle Council supports community clean up

A Newcastle councillor said that each summer, it supports the city’s two universities and local communities in keeping areas clean and tidy as students leave the city.

Schemes like Newcastle University’s ‘Leave Newcastle Happy’ and the provision of the British Heart Foundation’s donation points on university campuses have been very successful in reducing the amount of waste left in student areas. He added that the council also allocates extra resources to cleaning up waste including bulky waste.

Newcastle also has a new city-wide anti-littering campaign which aims to send out the message that keeping our city and local communities clean is everyone’s responsibility, and students are no exception.