'I want to change my area's attitude to litter'

"Litter has become normalised in my community and I want to change that," said Zakariya Islam.

The 21-year-old wants to encourage other young men to grab a litter picker and tackle rubbish on the streets of Highfields in Leicester.

Islam started a litter-picking group last month after growing tired of seeing waste in the area, and said he thinks some people have become desensitised to the problem.

To teach younger generations about the issue, Islam has shared his work on TikTok and Instagram, and said: "If you get young people to care about where they live, it changes everything."

Islam, who was born and raised in Highfields, believes the area has always had a litter problem.

"When you live here, seeing lots of litter is a normal thing," he said.

"We have a massive sense of community and pride here, but growing up around litter makes you think that people don't care about the area.

"It creates a bad culture for younger generations and I want to stop that."

Islam's litter-picking group meets twice a week, usually on a Wednesday night and Sunday morning.

There are three to eight volunteers helping during the picks.

Most of the volunteers are young men aged 18 and above and have found him through social media.

He said: "I've never really seen a group of young men litter picking before, but this is exactly what we need.

"Us young people are annoyed with litter on the streets, so we are doing something about it.

"We are creating a new culture."

The majority of litter found during the picks is food and drink packaging, but occasionally, litter involving drugs and alcohol is found.

"There's lots of litter near the primary school, and kids should not be seeing any of that," Islam said.

Islam said trying to improve his community is not something he ever expected to do.

As a teenager, his life looked very different.

He said: "At age 14, I was kicked out of school for being caught with illegal substances.

"My family are from Bangladesh, and there were seven of us living in a two-bedroom house. We had a proper working class upbringing.

"I was headed down the complete wrong path - surrounded by street culture and gang culture.

"People in the community told me I was destined for prison, so I turned my life around."

Litter picking is just one of a number of projects Islam is involved in, as he also helps to organise food banks and collections in Leicester.

His end goal is to have volunteers from schools, mosques and other local groups regularly litter picking in the area.

"In Islam we are taught to be clean and look after our area, and I want to hold my people to account and encourage them to come and join us," he added.

"Let's eradicate litter across the whole of Leicester. That's the mission."

Independent MP for Leicester South, Shockat Adam, said: "I've seen first-hand how the Highfields youth litter-picking group is transforming streets and lifting the spirit of the community.

"These groups deserve real backing, which is why I've raised the issue in Parliament, pressing ministers for more resources, stronger enforcement and a zero-tolerance approach to litter and fly-tipping.

"I'm pleased to be launching the Leicester Clean Streets Campaign to empower litter-picking groups across our city: supporting education, strengthening community cohesion and restoring pride in local neighbourhoods."

A Leicester City Council spokesperson added: "Volunteers like Zakariya play a big role in keeping their communities tidy.

"If people disposed of their waste responsibly, there would be no need for litter-pickers, but sadly litter and fly-tipping continue to blight the environment and create unnecessary costs for the whole community.

"We'd like to thank all those who help us keep Leicester clean, tidy and welcoming for everyone."

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