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Wednesday 5 Nov 2003

SALFORD SCOOPS A GREEN APPLE

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A massive clear up scheme which saw more than 300 tonnes of flytipped rubbish  shifted from railway sidings has won a prestigious award. The nationally acclaimed Green Apple award will be presented to Salford City Council and Network Rail, after the organisations got together to clean up Salford's railways. As well as shifting the dumped rubbish - which included mattresses, shop fitting units, a furniture van, conifers, rubble, burned out cars and hundreds of black bin bags - stations were also tidied up and a new anti-pigeon paint tried out under railway bridges. Environment manager for Network Rail Peter Baxter said: "This joint working has proved invaluable. Some of the rubbish dumped down the sidings was inches away from the track and posing a serious safety problem. "Now it's all been cleared, and, as prevention is always better than cure, we've also tried to nip the whole problem in the bud by educating people about better ways to be rid of their rubbish." - more - Apple – 2 Salford City Council lead member for the environment Maureen Lea added: "It's all about working together to make our city a better place to live, work and visit. As well as clearing all the rubbish from the sidings we got in touch with people who lived locally and let them know how easy it was to get rid of their bulky waste without dumping it. "We've also put up new fencing and barriers to discourage people from doing this in the future and we cleaned up railways stations, putting in new litter bins and seats. All in all the aim was to make train travel to and from Salford more pleasant - and even safer." The Green Apple award is run by the Green Organisation, and is one of the most highly esteemed environmental awards in the country. Funding for the £35,000 scheme came from the government, Salford City Council and Network Rail, and the aim was for councils and the railway industry to work together to improve the environment on railway land. The award will be presented to Wayne Priestley of Salford Environmental Services by the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry during a special ceremony for all Green Apple winners in the House of Commons on November 6.