More than 30 million tons of refuse are discarded annually throughout the UK, posing a visible eyesore in our neighborhoods, endangering wildlife, and incurring an estimated cost of £1 billion each year for cleanup efforts.
Fortunately, Keep Britain Tidy’s initiatives, the Great British Spring Clean and Great Big School Clean, are making a comeback from March 13-29. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are expected to participate in rejuvenating our streets during this period.
Since its inception as a one-time event in 2016, numerous Litter Heroes have demonstrated their commitment by collecting over 4.5 million bags of waste from various locations like streets, parks, fields, riverbanks, and beaches across Britain.
The Great British Spring Clean is scheduled for March 13-29. Enroll now at keepbritaintidy.org and commit to gathering any quantity of garbage bags you desire. Whether as a team, an individual, or a school, simply provide your name, email, postcode, and state the number of bags you aim to gather.
Last year, nearly 400,000 volunteers engaged in the annual litter pick, filling approximately 462,000 bags of trash. Feedback from participants revealed that 95% acknowledged the noticeable enhancement in their local surroundings due to their contributions.
Among the notable advocates this year is civil servant Emdad Rahman, one of Keep Britain Tidy’s 200 esteemed Litter Hero Ambassadors, backed by People’s Postcode Lottery. Emdad leads the Little Litter League, promoting environmental consciousness among young people and families through regular clean-up sessions, emphasizing the importance of education for fostering lasting change.
Emdad is joined by other champions like Sarah Drakes, sustainability manager at Nestlé Confectionery UK&I, who has been a steadfast supporter of the Great British Spring Clean for the past six years. Similarly, KFC UK&I has been a longstanding partner, with area coach Rob Edwards ensuring active participation in the annual Spring Clean to maintain cleanliness around KFC outlets.
Mars Wrigley, a major food corporation, has been a dedicated supporter of the campaign for nearly a decade, funding the Chewing Gum Task Force aimed at minimizing gum litter nationwide through street clean-ups and awareness campaigns, resulting in reductions of up to 86% in gum littering.
The Great British Spring Clean presents an opportunity to contribute positively to your community by committing to pick up a bag or more starting from February 13.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, expressed gratitude to volunteers like Emdad for their collective efforts in removing over four million bags of harmful litter from public spaces, while encouraging citizens nationwide to actively combat littering.
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, commended the volunteers for their dedication to preserving the environment, emphasizing the role each individual plays in safeguarding nature.
This year’s campaign is made possible by 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.
The Great British Spring Clean encompasses the Spring Clean Cymru in Wales (March 13-29) and Spring Clean Scotland in Scotland (March 13-April 24).
