Pier Jam event '˜marred by ludicrous amount of rubbish' on Hastings Pier

Visitors to Hastings Pier said '˜there was no excuse' for the large amount of rubbish left after Saturday night's dance music event.
The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark DysonThe rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson
The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson

Pier Jam Part Three was held on Hastings Pier on Saturday night featuring music from drum and bass and dubstep heavyweights Chase & Status, alongside BBC Radio 1’s Danny Howard and many others.

However, on Sunday morning (September 9), pictures circulated on social media showed large quantities of plastic – mainly empty cups and bottles – strewn across the pier.

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Joshua Speer, from Hastings, took to Twitter to say the organisers of the event – Pier Jam UK – should be ‘ashamed’ by the litter.

The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark DysonThe rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson
The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson

He added: “Why wasn’t this collected last night after the event, rather than being left overnight to blow around and gather? Most importantly, how much of this went into the sea?! Hastings is a fishing town.

“There is no excuse but I, as well as many others, welcome your feedback and comments on this.”

The event organisers provided a statement after receiving cricism. Read what they said here.

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Another visitor to Hastings Pier on Sunday morning said Saturday night’s event was ‘marred by the ludicrous amount of rubbish still on the pier’.

The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark DysonThe rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson
The rubbish left on Hastings Pier. Picture: Mark Dyson

Mark Dyson said the rubbish was still not cleared at about 12.30pm, by which time the area had been cordoned off.

In an email, he added: “Of course events will generate rubbish but surely the event organisers, the company responsible for selling drinks or both should only be granted permission to host events on the pier if they can show they have the staff in place to clean it up before the pier opens to the public the following day.

“It seems particularly ironic amidst the current awareness around the problem of plastics in our seas and oceans that this is what so many people would have been greeted with whilst out for a lovely stroll on a beautiful sunny Sunday morning.

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“I wonder what visitors to Hastings thought. Welcome to Hastings indeed.”

Hastings Borough Council and the owner of Hastings Pier have been approached for comment.

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