As a local business giving something back to the community is  important to us. The community is where we live and work and in an ideal world we need to protect and enhance the environment around us. Small businesses like ours have a great opportunity to give something back.

As part of the Summit to the Sea beach clean we went for a walk along the River Mole in Surrey. Parking near the Garden centre we walked along the Riverside walk picking up any rubbish that we spotted. Just below Castle Mill weir there is a small beach area where we discovered the usual plastic and glass bottles and drinks cans buried in the sand. We also found a fold up camping chair that had seen better days.

As we walked away there was a sense of achievement that we had left the area in a better state than we had found it. We then drove to Young Street car park to walk along the River Mole just outside Leatherhead. Again the usual plastic bottles and cans but in addition clothes and other items that appeared to have been fly tipped. In the end we filled two large sacks.

The big question is though why do people dump rubbish in the countryside? Why are they too lazy to take it to the local recycling centre? With more and more household items suitable for recycling there really is no excuse. How do we change a culture where it is ok to drop litter and dump rubbish.