Thousands of volunteers across Darlington and County Durham will soon be taking to the streets to join LitterFree Durham’s annual Big Spring Clean campaign.
Residents across Darlington are being urged to join in this year’s initiative and help keep #OurStreets clean.
The Big Spring Clean is organised by LitterFree Durham in partnership with Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council, will run from 27 February until 16 April with litter picks across the borough and County Durham.
Last year more than 2,500 people took part in 187 community litter picks and collected 2,478 bags of rubbish. In Darlington alone, 839 people joined 45 litter picks during which 786 bags of rubbish and 2.5 tons of bulky waste were collected.
Councillor Nick Wallis, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for leisure and the local environment, said:
“The Big Spring Clean 2016 was one of the best so far and we’re hoping we can build on that. It’s great to see so many people pulling together to help and we’d love to see that extended to support the #OurStreets initiative.
“We launched this in October, when we challenged individuals, community groups, schools and businesses to take greater pride in #OurStreets and work together to keep them clean.
“Litter is everyone’s problem – we need to tackle it together. We’d love to see even more people join this year’s Big Spring Clean and, taking things one step further, if everyone picked up just one piece of litter every day, think of the difference it would make!”
Councillor Gerald Lee, chair of LitterFree Durham, added:
“The efforts of the many volunteers who take part in our annual Big Spring Clean really make a difference in tidying up our towns and villages.
“Every year more and more volunteers have signed up to take part in their local community litter picks and I hope this trend continues. And, of course, litter is a year-round problem so if people can do their bit – however small – to help #OurStreets, it all adds up.
“But the real message, to save the lives of thousands of animals and reduce the annual £1billion we spend in keeping our country clean, is to simply not drop litter in the first place – take it home or drop it in a litter bin.”
The initiative has been backed by Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington. Ron said:
“It is important that people of all ages take responsibility for taking their litter home and keeping our streets clean from rubbish and fly-tipping. Schemes such as this have a positive, long-term effect and help residents to have a sense of pride in their neighbourhood. This is an excellent example of joined-up working for the benefit of the community.”
Darlington’s first community litter pick for this year’s Big Spring Clean will be held on Monday 27 February. Volunteers are asked to meet at 10am at the Clock Tower in the South Park.
For more information about this year’s Big Spring Clean visit www.litterfreedurham.org. To register to help clean up your local area in Darlington, email litterfreedurham@darlington.gov.uk or call 01325 406719; and to register to help clean up your local area in County Durham, email litterfreedurham@durham.gov.uk or call 03000 261 000
For more information about how you can help keep ‘Our Streets’ clean and how to organise a litter pick log onto the website at www.darlington.gov.uk/litterpick and don’t forget to tell us, and others, about your efforts on social media using the #OurStreets tag.