An award-winning group from Llangattock have been tackling the war on waste and picking its way to a cleaner community for years now, but now they’re being forced into finding a new home.

Llangattock Litter Pickers won the Keep Wales Tidy Community Group of the Year award last year, when they collected over 800 bags of rubbish from the roadside and covered almost 400 miles in the process.

The 17-strong team have been based out of the old Powys County Council depot near Heron’s Rest Marina for the entirety of their existence, but in just weeks they will have to vacate their base site and move elsewhere.

The council moved out of the depot seventeen years ago but still own the land, and they have chosen to lease it to a new occupant.

Barry Sandilands is the chair of the group, and said they are actively appealing to find somewhere which will allow them to continue their important work in the community.

“The group have a collection van that will need a local, safe parking space and also have a shipping container that houses the sorting material that supports the monthly recycling program,” he said.

“So to allow this triple award winning group of environmental volunteers to continue this valuable work - we need to find a new home for the container + van.”

“Otherwise we are doomed and the local lanes and open spaces will quickly fill with the trash left across our beautiful community.”

Some local organisations have since reached out, with the group hopeful that they will find a new base soon.

On a litter pick with the group, it was clear to see that the neverending task the volunteers take on several times a week is necessary. Our reporter helped them collect over thirty bags of waste from the roadside on a Thursday morning, and the problem is far greater than most would recognise.

Among the items discovered on the roads around Crickhowell, Gilwern and Glangrwyney were several pairs of socks, polystyrene containers, and single-use vapes.

The worst offenders were plastic bottles and cans, with more than 70 per cent of the waste collected at the roadside being drink-related, according to one volunteer.

“You do get some rather odd finds, and having the van allows us to pick up some of the more bulky items that have been fly-tipped in the area,” said Tony, who was out keeping the area tidy on the day.

“I enjoy coming out and spending time with people while knowing I’m giving something back to the community. It isn’t just about taking pride in where you live, but you do make friends and meet other people from the community when you’re out.”

The group also has an impressive recycling rate of 64.8 per cent as of 2024, and won an Award for Excellence in the Community from the Green Man Trust. They aren’t just active in the immediate area either, with teams often going out across Powys, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire.

Anyone who can spend a morning with the litter pickers can get in touch at [email protected].