Community litter heroes invited to join the war against rubbish

The campaign is a key milestone in Keep Britain Tidy’s calendar, highlighting the problem of litter in the environment, and brings thousands of people together from across the nation each year to do something positive about clearing it up.

Councillor Norman MacRae, Cabinet Member for the Environment at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We anticipate a high level of interest from residents in this event as outdoor spaces have proved invaluable in maintaining our mental and physical well-being over the past year, providing many with a place of refuge outside the home.  Litter picking also brings its own health benefits, encouraging more of us to get active and making people feel more connected to their community.”

According to Keep Britain Tidy, four fifths of participants in last year’s clean up event reported an increased sense of pride for their local area while 79% agreed volunteering helped improve their mood.

For 2021, the charity is calling on an army of volunteer ‘litter heroes’ to help them achieve a collective target of a million miles of litter picking (#MillionMilesMission).  Members of the public can register, by pledging how many minutes or hours they will commit to undertake by visiting www.keepbritaintidy.org.  All minutes and hours promised will then be converted into miles and counted towards the GBSC target.

Councillor MacRae continued: “We are delighted to be able to offer any group which is organising a litter pick an easy option for disposing of the rubbish once collected over the course of the Great British Spring Clean. Residents just need to contact us and we will arrange collection of the litter that has been collected.”

The collection service will apply to non-hazardous, general litter that can be easily contained within a black rubbish sack.  Residents should report in incidents of fly tipping separately to the Council rather than attempt to move these themselves so that any potential evidence remains undisturbed. This can be done on the Council’s new website - https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/environment/fly-tipping/

Groups are encouraged to present the waste they collect at a suitable collection point where it can be stowed securely until it can be collected.  Community spaces, such as local village halls and churches, with good vehicle access are ideal so long as permission of the relevant landowner has been sought first.

A collection can be arranged by calling West Oxfordshire District Council’s customer services team on 01993 861000 or by emailing [email protected]

Residents wishing to litter pick independent of a group are asked to put the waste they collect in their normal domestic refuse bin.

Last year West Oxfordshire District Council street teams litter picked 147kms of highway verges collecting discarded roadside rubbish.

Guidance on how to litter pick safely can be found at: www.keepbritaintidy.org