More than 30 million tons of litter are discarded throughout the UK annually, posing a visible eyesore in our neighborhoods while also causing harm to wildlife and incurring an estimated cleanup cost of around £1 billion per year.
Fortunately, Keep Britain Tidy’s initiatives, the Great British Spring Clean and Great Big School Clean, are making a return from March 13-29. Hundreds of thousands of individuals will participate in these events to enhance the cleanliness of our streets.
Since its inception as a one-time occurrence in 2016, Litter Heroes have demonstrated their commitment to their communities by collecting over 4.5 million bags of trash from various locations such as streets, parks, fields, riverbanks, and beaches.
The Great British Spring Clean is scheduled for March 13-29. You can register today at keepbritaintidy.org to commit to collecting any quantity of bin bags you desire, whether as an individual, a group, or a school. Simply provide your name, email, postcode, and the number of bags you plan to collect.
Last year, close to 400,000 volunteers participated in the annual cleanup, filling approximately 462,000 bags of rubbish. A survey revealed that 95% of the volunteers believed their contributions significantly improved their local surroundings.
Among this year’s advocates is Emdad Rahman, a civil servant and one of Keep Britain Tidy’s 200 Litter Hero Ambassadors. Emdad leads the Little Litter League, a project that encourages young people and families to appreciate and care for the environment through regular litter-picking sessions.
Emdad is joined by other supporters like Sarah Drakes, the sustainability manager at Nestlé Confectionery UK&I, who has backed the Great British Spring Clean for the past six years by organizing litter-picking events and promoting the cause among colleagues.
Long-term partners, including KFC UK&I and Mars Wrigley, have also been active in supporting the campaign, with initiatives like the Chewing Gum Task Force seeing significant reductions in gum littering through cleaning and awareness efforts.
The Great British Spring Clean offers an opportunity to contribute positively to your community by pledging to collect a bag or more starting from February 13.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, the CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, expressed gratitude to volunteers like Emdad for their dedication, which has resulted in the removal of over four million bags of litter from public areas.
Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, commended the volunteers for their environmental protection efforts and emphasized the importance of individual contributions to nature conservation.
This year’s campaign is made possible thanks to the support of People’s Postcode Lottery players, media partners Bauer Media Outdoor, Magic Radio, The Mirror, and collaborating partners such as KFC UK&I, Mars Wrigley, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Pepsi Max, and Walkers.