Join the Great British Spring Clean

Blaby District Council is backing this year’s Great British Spring Clean and encouraging more people to volunteer for litter picking.

The Council provides equipment for litter picking and collects the bags of rubbish once picks are completed. It already has close links with dedicated volunteers who make up the South Leicestershire Litter Wombles. 

However, the authority is hoping to swell the ranks of its volunteers as part of the annual Keep Britain Tidy initiative. Running until Sunday 6 April it is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign, now in its ninth year. Anyone interested can find out more here: Litter Picking

Paul Coates, Neighbourhood Services Group Manager at Blaby District Council, said: "There are many reasons to get behind this national campaign. Once discarded, litter remains in our environment for decades. We regularly see the litter picking volunteers such as the ‘wombles’ collecting crisp packets from the 90s, plastic cartons and bottles, all items which can soil our countryside for hundreds of years. We’d encourage residents to get in touch and help support the Great British Spring Clean. Whatever little time you can offer it all helps to keep your neighbourhood tidy."

There are many reasons to get involved in litter picking. According to Keep Britain Tidy, the RSPCA receives thousands of calls a year about animals being caught up in or injured by litter. Litter is also a costly concern, both financially and socially. Each year in England hundreds of millions of pounds are spent clearing up litter.

More than 90% of the 1,140 miles of urban and rural sites surveyed by Keep Britain Tidy over the past decade were found to contain litter, with the latest survey showing just nine in every 100 locations in England to be litter-free. People feel less safe and house prices are affected when an area looks littered and uncared for.

For more information on the Great British Spring Clean visit: Keep Britain Tidy - Great British Spring Clean