Cheltenham tidies up for the Great British Spring Clean

Local friends groups have organised litter picks for Pittville Park, Montpellier Park, Hatherley Park, Pilley Bridge, Benhall Park and Winston Churchill Memorial Gardens.  

The Great British Spring Clean campaign, run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, runs from 22 March to 23 April and will see up to half a million people taking action to clean up streets, parks and beaches across the country.

The Great British Spring Clean brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the environment on our doorstep and in 2018 around 370,000 #LitterHeroes collected more than 630,000 bags of rubbish.

Last year, Cheltenham Borough Council spent over £1 million keeping our streets clean.  Every day street cleaning teams from Ubico, Cheltenham Borough Council’s environmental services provider, are out and about sweeping our streets and pavements, jet washing bird mess and chewing gum, as well as litter picking around the borough.

Keep Britain Tidy chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton, said: “The Great British Spring Clean is an opportunity for the millions of people who care about the environment on their doorstep to do something positive that will make a visible difference.

“We are delighted that Cheltenham Borough Council is supporting this year’s campaign and would like to thank them for their support.

“Without councils across the country giving the campaign their backing, our volunteers would not be able to do the incredible job they do.”

Cllr Chris Coleman, cabinet member for clean and green environment at Cheltenham Borough Council, says: “Council and Ubico staff work hard all year round to keep our town clean and tidy and we are very lucky to have so many dedicated community groups that volunteer their time to help, including individuals who take it upon themselves to litter pick roads near where they live.

“We are currently reviewing street cleansing and the provision of litter bins, including the introduction of ‘on the go’ recycling bins, to help reduce the amount of litter around the borough and increase the amount of litter that is recycled.

This year’s campaign will not only see tonnes of litter being removed from the environment on our doorstep, it also aims to rescue thousands of the plastic bottles and aluminium drinks cans that are simply thrown on the ground but could, very easily, be recycled.

Using the ‘three bags full’ approach, volunteers will be encouraged to separate the litter they pick into three bags: one for plastic bottles; one for aluminium cans and a third for the rest of the rubbish.

Cheltenham Borough Council will then collect these bags to ensure that they are recycled appropriately.

To find out more about the Great British Spring Clean visit www.keepbritaintidy.org

For media enquiries, contact: communication, telephone 01242 264154, email [email protected]

Photographs: Cheltenham clean and sparkling after Ubico’s clean-up efforts.

Notes: The Great British Spring Clean is the country’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign. The campaign was first run in 2017. In 2018, despite the Beast from the East, more than 371,566 #LitterHeroes volunteers took part including more than 126,651 school children.

In total 13,500 events were held over the campaign period (2 to 4 March 2018) and 300 local authorities took part.

Top 3 litter items reported in 2018: of respondents (%)

1. Soft drink cans, bottles, cartons 77%
2. Alcohol cans, wine bottles, spirit bottles, etc. 61%
3. Fast food litter, e.g. packaging, food, straws 54%

Enhanced wellbeing

Of those who took part in the Great British Spring Clean 2018 and responded to Keep Britain Tidy’s survey, many report positive mental health benefits;

• 83% felt more part of their community
• 88% said they would encourage other people that they knew or met not to drop litter
• 82% felt more aware of the impact that litter has on the environment
• 82% felt they had the knowledge and skills they need to carry on litter-picking in their local area as a result of taking part
• 92% said they had enjoyed volunteering their time to the Great British Spring Clean

The Great British Spring Clean 2019, in partnership with the Daily Mail, is made possible thanks to headline sponsor Wilko and is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The campaign is also supported by Clear Channel, M&S, Coca-Cola, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Walkers, Greggs, McDonald’s UK, Kärcher and Costa Coffee, with special thanks to Helping Hand.