Following complaints from local residents, Councillors representing the Bede Ward have come together with Burger King and McDonald’s staff to encourage customers to do their bit to keep the Borough clean.
The Clean for the Queen initiative is taking place across the UK this weekend (Friday 4 – Sunday 6 March).
The campaign aims to inspire more than a million people across the country to take action and help give their local communities a spring clean ahead of the Queen’s 90th birthday on 21 April 2016.
Cllr Tracey Dixon, Lead member for Area Management and Community Safety at South Tyneside council said: “We take the issue of litter and rubbish on our streets very seriously. It has a negative impact on people’s perceptions of an area and a detrimental effect on the environment.
“Our street cleansing team works extremely hard to keep South Tyneside as clean and tidy as possible and we do a great deal of work to encourage people to support us and take pride in their local area.”
Joseph Dunlop, Restaurant Manager of the Newcastle Road brand of Burger King, said: “We’d like to appeal to our customers to dispose of their wrappers in the bins provided on site or to take their rubbish away with them. It is everyone’s responsibility to do what they can to keep the Borough clear of rubbish. Our staff work hard to try and keep our sites clean and we hope that our customers can work with us to do the same.”
John Hodgson, Business Manager at McDonald’s on Newcastle Road said: “McDonald’s is proud to be a part of the communities we serve. Giving back is an essential part of the way we operate every day and events like Clean for the Queen can inspire our customers to make small changes that can make a big difference. We’d encourage our customers to do what they can to play their part in what should be a great campaign.”
It costs taxpayers almost £1billion each year to clear away the 30 million tonnes of rubbish collected from the UK streets each year. Clean for the Queen aims to educate and tackle the problem of littering nationwide.
To find out more about Clean for the Queen and activities happening across the Borough go towww.cleanforthequeen.co.uk