Communities in Christchurch and East Dorset are being encouraged to get involved in the nationwide Clear Up Day on Saturday 21 March.
Community Clear Up Day is a ‘national spring clean’, backed by the government, that aims to spruce up England’s high streets, residential and business areas, villages and parks.
Christchurch and East Dorset Councils have some litter pickers, high-vis vests and gloves that can be loaned out to community groups, on a first-come first-served basis, and Dorset Waste Partnership has agreed to collect the bags of litter which are collected.
The government has produced a toolkit of useful information to help groups set up their own event. It can be downloaded from https://thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk/clearupday.
Cllr Margaret Phipps, portfolio holder for the environment at Christchurch Council, said: “We already have a number of groups in the borough who litter pick and generally make their local areas look tidy, but we’d like to encourage more groups to come forward. Unfortunately, there still seem to be a number of people who think it’s acceptable to throw their litter where they like. Maybe if they see their neighbours having to pick up their litter they might think again.”
Cllr Mike Dyer, lead member for the environment at East Dorset Council, added: “This is a great national initiative and we would love our communities to get involved. Groups who have already done these litter picks have found it a very sociable activity. It’s a good way to make friends and keep your neighbourhood looking tidy into the bargain.”
Any groups wanting to take advantage of the litter picking equipment should email [email protected]. They can also arrange a suitable location where the litter collected can be left so that Dorset Waste Partnership can pick it up.
