Hundreds of volunteer litter pickers are set to take part in another blooming marvellous Great Bristol Spring Clean when it returns on 20 March 2020.
Mayor, Marvin Rees, today [Monday 16 March] said he is hoping for another record-breaking year as he kicked off the Spring Clean supported by volunteers from Bristol businesses including Aardman Animations, Hargreaves Lansdown, Digby Associates, and Clean Up Bristol Harbour. They gathered in Queen Square after litter picking the route from their own organisations and homes. Rees called on businesses and residents to get picking and reporting this month in a bid to bring the sparkle back to Bristol.
Running until 20 April 2020, the Great Bristol Spring Clean is part of Mayor Marvin Rees' Bristol Clean Streets campaign. Since launching in November 2016, the campaign has seen some remarkable results. Together Bristol Waste, the Council, residents and businesses have:
Invested an additional £2million in street cleansing
Run 7 awareness raising campaigns, including the much-loved #LitterHurts and hard-hitting Operation Waste Watch
Donated 520 litter pickers to 52 primary and secondary schools across Bristol
Rolled out 110 litter-munching, rubbish crunching, solar powered, super hungry bins across the city
Distributed 30,000 dog poo bags to pet owners across the city
Supplied tonnes of paint to Community Repaint; helping residents tackle graffiti
Hosted 7 city wide clean ups
Issued 20,000 fixed penalty notices issued for littering and successfully made 1,000 prosecutions
600+ streets to be deep cleaned thanks to the Big Tidy
Increased the number of streets which have little to no litter to 95%.
Over 17,000hrs of additional cleaning and community engagement through the Big Tidy
Loaned over 5000 litter picking kits to residents
Collected 8,656 bags of litter by over 7,000 volunteers
Mayor Marvin Rees said: “One of the best things to have come out of the Clean Streets campaign is the number of volunteers, organisations and businesses who have stepped up to help us keep Bristol clean and tidy. The Great Bristol Spring Clean is a great opportunity for everyone to come together with friends, neighbourhoods and co-workers to help make their area of the city sparkle.
“The Clean Streets Campaign was launched to bring about this change. We wanted to see less litter, fly tipping, fly posting, graffiti tagging, dog fouling, gum and weeds in the city.
“The campaign aimed to make Bristol and its streets cleaner and to encourage everyone who lives, works, learns, or plays here to play a part in making this happen.
“Despite all these positive outcomes, we know that there is still a lot of work to do, and we still need the city’s help. We need everyone to do their bit and to contribute to keeping the city clean and tidy. Working together we can make Bristol a city we can all be proud of.”
Bristol won the Great British Spring Clean Award at the Keep Britain Tidy Awards for last years’ event, which saw 1,219 volunteers litter pick their way along pathways, pavements, gardens and parks all over the city. An incredible 85 separate events took place and a total of 1,132 bags of rubbish and recycling were litter picked from every corner of Bristol.
Could Bristol do even better this year with a boost from business?
Bristol Waste and the council are issuing a challenge to every business in Bristol to support their community with a Great Bristol Spring Clean lunch time litter pick. Getting involved couldn’t be easier, with Bristol Waste supplying all the kit needed for a fun and safe event.
Tony Lawless, Managing Director, Bristol Waste said: “The ecological impact of littering is huge, with a vast amount of littered plastic making its way from our streets into the River Avon and ultimately the sea. It’s also harmful to people, pets and wildlife in Bristol.
“The good news is that spending just few minutes litter picking can make a noticeable difference to our streets and green spaces, and if we all took part in a 10-minute lunch time litter pick our streets would be sparkling.”
Head to the Bristol Waste website and reserve your litter picking kit today to take part in the Great Bristol Spring Clean, along with thousands of others who will be making a positive impact on Bristol’s streets, parks and communities.
When you sign up you will be supplied with:
litter picking sticks
high visibility tabards
bags for collecting recycling or waste
hoops to help keep your bags open
downloadable posters to promote your litter pick
Plus, the waste will be taken away for free!
Want to find out more or see how to get involved? Visit www.bristolwastecompany.co.uk/springclean or email hello@bristolwastecompany.co.uk Alternatively, book your litter picking kit now at www.bristolwastecompany.co.uk/litterpick