My Rubbish Diary

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Hi, my name’s Michael and I hate litter, so I’m on a mission to pick up rubbish from all 1,143 streets in Burnley 🚮 ♻️

My website shows where I have cleaned so far, the amount of litter I’ve binned (and recycled), and photos of my findings. I also write blog posts focusing on the beauty and history of my town and local area.

Total CollectedItems BinnedItems Recycled
Total CollectedItems BinnedItems Recycled
DateBinnedRecycledNotables

Photos

Starting at the border of Lancashire and Yorkshire
My first column in The Burnley Express
My litter picking mission in The Burnley Express
Litter picking in Brun Valley Forest
Fly tipping that we reported using the Love Clean Streets app
Two more bags of litter filled and taken home for binning and recycling
Front page news!
Some miniature brew making supplies we found dumped in Thompson Park
A note found while litter picking (22/03/25)
A picture of a CD that was littered in a layby
Litter picking in one of Burnley's green spaces
Anti-littering sign in Towneley Park
Rubbish collected from Red Lees Road. After much discussion we think the black thing is what people put on their shoes to walk in snow or ice. However, if you know better, please let me know via the website.
Out and about in Cliviger
The Kettledrum Inn, Mereclough
A photo of The Ran Inn in Lancashire
A photo of Holme Hall in Lancashire
A picture of Mount Zion church, Walk Mill, Lancashire
According to local historian Roger Frost, John Foldys was a Catholic priest working at nearby St Peter’s and the cross probably marked his grave
At the base of the cross is a translation of the original Latin inscription
A screwdriver found among some fly tipped rubbish (now rehomed in my toolbox)
A full Nando's takeaway we found and binned
Picking a can out of the river
River Brun
Water bottles left by runners during Brun Valley Trail 10k race

Latest posts

Retiring (but not quitting!)

Ballot bins and other rubbish innovations (updated weekly)

Burnley Express column: how getting closer to nature can help reduce littering

Burnley Express column: How litter picking boosted my health

Quirky finds (updated weekly)

A littered plastic bottle of Tango Orange

Littering and The Broken Windows Theory

Burnley Road (part ii)

Boundary stone between Lancashire and Yorkshire

Burnley Road (part i)

Red Lees Road

Coming soon: my rubbish book!

Coming soon: my rubbish book!

If you’re interested in reading more, you can join the waiting list for my book. The more of you who sign up, the better publisher I can get and the more money I’ll be able to donate to environmental charities.

Thank you for your support!

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