As part of the Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British September Clean we are encouraging people to organise litter picks to clean up their local environment and help keep our National Landscapes special.
The scale of the litter problem in the AONBs since lockdown restrictions have eased has increased enormously and many villages are struggling to cope with the volume of waste. We all need to take action to clean up our beautiful beaches, countryside, villages, and towns to keep these National Landscapes special for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive.
Councillor Nigel Chapman, chair of the Dedham Vale AONB and Stour Valley, Joint Advisory Committee says:
We need to lessen the terrible impact our behaviours are having on our environment and come together to care about the areas in which we live and the beautiful countryside we visit.
The Great British September Clean, which is the postponed Great British Spring Clean (the country’s biggest mass action environmental campaign), runs from 11-27th September, and involves litter-picking your local area. It can be carried out alone, in pairs or small groups of up to a maximum of six, in line with government guidance.
At the Great British Spring Clean last year there were:
- 17,097 clean-ups
- 957,377 bags of litter collected
- 1.1 million hours spent litter picking
Councillor David Wood, Chair of the Coast and Heaths AONB, Joint Advisory Committee, says of this amazing effort:
Together we can create change and bring an end to litter pollution so I encourage local people to get involved this year in cleaning their own area to make it a better environment for all to enjoy
To register and for more details visit the Keep Britain Tidy website:
www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean
Local Authorities in Suffolk and Essex are supporting this scheme so for advice on litter picking equipment and litter collection contact your local district below:
East Suffolk- [email protected]
West Suffolk- [email protected]
Babergh Mid Suffolk – [email protected]
Ipswich Borough Council – [email protected]
Colchester Borough Council – [email protected]
Braintree Borough Council – [email protected]
Tendring District Council – tendringdc.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/community-litter-picking
For more information contact Emma Black on 01394 445225, or email [email protected]