Best Year Yet for Great British Spring Clean

Throughout March and April volunteers have been heading out into their communities to take part in the annual Great British Spring Clean. This national campaign run by Keep Britain Tidy empowers people to help clean up the country. In Dacorum, around 700 residents took part over the two month period.

40 different groups spruced up their streets with a community litter-pick, these were made up of community groups, schools, individuals and businesses. Throughout the two-month period, these hard-working volunteers collected a total of nearly 400 rubbish bags and over 200 recycling bags! This is the most litter that has ever been collected in Dacorum during the Great British Spring Clean. Separating recyclable litter is especially valuable to ensure that these items are able to be used again and will no longer be left littering the floor, or end up in landfill.

In total across the UK the Great British Spring Clean brought together over 560,000 litter-pickers, collecting nearly 1 million bags of litter!

Group Manager for Environmental Services, Craig Thorpe, said, ‘We would like to thank every volunteer who carried out a litter-pick during the Great British Spring Clean. These dedicated people are a shining example to others in the community, and show that we can all play a part in making our neighbourhoods cleaner, safer places to live, work and play.’

To complement the Great British Spring Clean, the council also visited local primary schools and Scouts groups and taught nearly 250 children about the problems litter causes, such as damage to wildlife and our environment, as well as the importance of recycling rubbish correctly.

If you are caught dropping litter you could face a Fixed Penalty Notice of £80, this fine is increased to £150 for those who litter from a car following new laws which came into effect last April.

All year round, the council can loan out litter-pick sticks and bags, as well as arrange for the collection of these bags after your litter pick. For more information or to request litter picking equipment, visit www.dacorum.gov.uk/litterpicks.