Litter picking weekend for Race Fit and Horizon Mountain bike club

Horizon Mountain Bike Club and Race Fit MTB coaching joined forces on Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10 to clean their favourite local biking location around Ballykelly and Loughermore.
Last Saturday and Sunday, around 15 people, from five years old to 55, got together to clean forest trails and car parks.
Their first stop was Ballykelly where they got soaked by the rain. However, they still managed to pick up ten bags of rubbish with a chair, a rim and tyre.
“I couldn’t believe the amount of things that were lying around,” said Graham Service, organiser of the litter pick and member of Horizon Mountain Bike Club.

Graham said that the trails were pretty clear but the rubbish was found near the car park.
“I would say a lot of it is perhaps dashboard dinners. They park up somewhere to have their lunch and throw everything at the window. I am only guessing what it could be.”
Then, the group went to Loughermore Forest Trails where they tried to clean as much as possible.
However, they were unable to pick rubbish further away from the entrance because of the amount of rubbish in the car park.
Some members went back on Monday to continue their efforts.
More than 30 more bags were collected around the five entrances to Loughermore.
“We picked up 39 large bags on two sites, Ballykelly Forest and Loughermore Forest. That was only around the entrance of the forest, inside the forest is actually pretty clear. It's just where people park their car, they dump their rubbish where they park and don’t take it home with them,” said Graham.
“What really shocked me is the amount of Red Bull cans, Lucozade bottles and empty coffee cups.”

The group was also shocked by the amount of dumped tyres thrown away out of view.
“You don’t really notice them because they are dumped out of view and lots of them were found within
three different entrances into Loughermore Forest.”
“They are too heavy and awkward. If we were taking them ourselves, the council would not take them.”
A spokesperson for Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said: “Council is aware of this incident, and while we do not normally accept tyres at Household Recycling Centres, we acknowledge that on this occasion it would have been appropriate for us to support the community group by accepting the tyre.
“Council wishes to continue to support the community who help keep the Borough tidy.”
The Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council provided the pickers and bags.