Join the Great British Spring Clean 2024 and be a litter picking hero for Redbridge

Help keep Redbridge tidy and become one of this year’s litter picking heroes for the Great British Spring Clean 2024.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean (GBSC) runs from March 15 to 31 and encourages families and communities to help keep their neighbourhoods clean by picking up litter and filling as many bags as they can during the national campaign.

In support, Redbridge Council is lending litter pickers to local people for free. Find out how to borrow a council litter picker on www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/spruce-up-your-neighbourhood/

Local people are being encouraged to get involved in a number of ways, including joining local community litter picks. As well as caring for your local neighbourhoods, community litter picks are a great way to get to know your neighbours and make new friends.

Chris Stone, Secretary of South Park Users Group, said: “We litter pick regularly because we have a constant tide of litter in the park, despite efforts to make people use the bins.  We use the litter picks as the cornerstone of our group, pairing them with gardening events. There are a variety of tasks to be done, and there is always tea and snacks with a chance to meet your neighbours socially afterwards'.

Whether you choose to fill one bag during a litter pick, or even challenge yourself to fill a bag a day over a set period of time – it all counts!

How to get involved in GBSC 2024:

• Organise a clean-up in your community. It’s an excellent way to meet neighbours, and sends out a strong message that the community will not tolerate littering in your local area.
• Volunteer and help Redbridge’s park rangers tackle litter in our parks. Find out more: https://visionrcl.org.uk/parks-outdoor-spaces/volunteering-in-parks-and-open-spaces-2/
• Join a community litter pick:
• The South Park Users Group are running community litter picks on Saturday 9 March, Saturday 23 March and Saturday 6 April. The group meet at 11am at the Wildlife Centre in South Park, Ilford. For more information, or to join go to https://spug.org.uk/ or call: 0208 599 9623. All litter picking equipment is provided.
• The South Woodford Society are leading a community litter pick on Sunday 17 March, and Sunday 14 April. The sessions run 11:00am - 12:00pm and the meeting point is South Woodford Community Orchard, Mulberry Way, E18 1ED. All litter picking equipment is provided but bring your own gloves if possible. To join the litter pick email: e18society@gmail.com For more information go to: https://www.southwoodfordsociety.org/events/sw-litter-pick-hsgd3-x9ahp-99ah8-pyx3y-d5hr5

• The Wanstead society and local councillors are leading a community litter pick on Saturday 16 March at 10am. The meeting point is the bus stop on Woodbine Place, Wanstead.

Louise Burgess, Sustainability Lead for the South Woodford Society, said: “Litter picking is weirdly addictive!  You can really make a difference in a short period of time and it is very satisfying to see the before and after.  Children especially seem to really like litter picking and often have the most energy of any of us! Getting involved in litter picks, whatever age you are and however long or short a time you have, can really help you to feel part of the community and makes you realise how important our local area is - and that helping keep it clean really does make a difference.”

For more information about GBSC 2024 go to: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean

Research backed by environmental charity ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ recorded a strong connection between emotional wellbeing and the cleanliness of neighbourhoods. People living in cleaner areas reported higher levels of happiness, lower levels of frustration, and were more likely to say they were proud of where they live.*

From getting rid of rubbish responsibly, to keeping front gardens tidy– there are things we can all do to help keep Redbridge looking great and desirable to live in.

Keep litter off the street

Redbridge has 1,123 public street bins, as well as bins in all of the borough’s parks, so there is no excuse to drop litter. If you can’t find a bin near you, always take your litter home for disposal.

Dog fouling

Dog walkers can dispose of bagged dog mess in any public street litter bin in the borough so don’t forget to grab your waste bags when walking the dog. If you can’t find a bin near you, take your dog waste home and put it in your household waste bin.

Responsible waste disposal

If you have rubbish that can’t be recycled, or disposed of in your household waste, there are other ways to discard of it. Dumping rubbish on the street should never be an option. From Redbridge Council’s bulky waste collection service offering residents a free collection every year, to local re-use and recycling centres, find out how to get rid of your rubbish responsibly: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

Untidy front gardens

Help keep your neighbourhood looking nice by keeping your front garden free of mess. Whilst a front garden may be private land, an untidy garden can make the whole street look unpleasant and have a detrimental effect on the local area, including attracting vermin.

(ENDS)

*Based on research commissioned by Kärcher in conjunction with Keep Britain Tidy.