The clean-up took place on Bourne Road on 4th July and involved a group of five volunteers led by Reform UK councillor Lawrence Davies. The group also included a member of the local residents’ association and volunteers from Reform UK Swindon.
The volunteers had planned to spend around two hours clearing litter from the area but the event was cut short after around 45 minutes following a separate incident. During that time, they collected three bags of rubbish from local streets.
The dispute centres on the use of a resident’s wheelie bin.
In a post on Facebook, the resident alleged Councillor Davies entered her property and emptied collected litter from an IKEA bag into her household bin after she told him not to.
She claimed the rubbish had not been bagged before being placed in the bin and said she repeatedly asked him to remove it.
The resident has since submitted a formal complaint to Swindon Borough Council.
However, Reform UK Swindon Leader Sara Godwin disputes parts of the resident’s account.
She said the wheelie bin had been left on the pavement awaiting collection and that Councillor Davies did not enter the resident’s property.
Godwin said a small amount of litter had already been placed in the bin before the resident began shouting from her window.
She said the councillor then followed council guidance by leaving the area after being subjected to verbal abuse.
Godwin added that the litter being placed in the bin was rubbish that had already been discarded on the roadside during the organised litter pick, rather than household waste.
She said there was evidence Davies had been carrying refuse sacks, gloves and other litter-picking equipment while taking part in the community clean-up.
However, she acknowledged that placing collected litter into residents’ wheelie bins is “not the usual practice during organised litter picks”.
Godwin said:
“The resident has submitted a formal complaint to the Council, and that complaint will receive an official response through the appropriate process.
“From my perspective, this involved a councillor volunteering to clear litter from the street. The waste had already been discarded on the roadside and was placed into a household bin that had been left out for collection. This is different from someone disposing of their own household waste in another person’s bin.
“We also have evidence that the councillor was undertaking an organised litter pick, including carrying refuse sacks, gloves and other litter-picking equipment, which supports that this was a community clean-up rather than the disposal of personal waste.
“While I understand the resident objected, and we have made it clear that placing collected litter into residents’ bins is not the usual practice during organised litter picks, I believe the incident should be kept in proportion. The councillor was carrying out community litter picking in his capacity as an elected member, wearing a Swindon Borough Council-branded high-visibility jacket and seeking to improve the local environment.”
The council says the resident’s complaint will now be considered through its formal complaints procedure.
