Residents, community groups and schools in St Helens Borough are readying their litter pickers and bags for the Great British Spring Clean (Friday 28 May – Sunday 13 June) – the country’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign, being supported locally by St Helens Borough Council and Groundwork.
Led by Keep Britain Tidy, the event encourages local people to tackle litter in their communities, in the hope that by the summer everyone can enjoy a cleaner, greener, litter-free environment.
This year organisers have set the Million Mile Mission, which involves individuals and groups pledging how much time – then converted into miles – they will spend litter picking.
The council will continue to lend its support by providing litter pickers and orange bin bags to local volunteers, as well as arranging for the waste to be collected from agreed times and locations that are accessible to vehicles.
The event embodies the spirit of the council’s wider work to keep the borough tidy and free of litter and dog waste. Officers work right across St Helens as part of the council’s street scene service caring for 1295 public spaces and 92 parks and open spaces, including 55 playgrounds.
There are almost 500 dog waste bins in the borough, emptied once every week equating to over 25,000 collections per year, and hundreds more regular waste bins. Staff have worked hard to maintain these services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere the council continues to clamp down on flytipping, having launched an awareness campaign earlier this year called #ThinkTwice and issued 33 Fixed Penalties Notices to between January and March 2021. The #ThinkTwice urges residents to do just that when arranging for waste disposal and considering illegally dumping their waste.
The council is also looking to carry out cleaning inspections of St Helens and Earlestown town centres in partnership with local businesses, as high streets continue to return to normal and footfall increases.
Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said:
“Great initiatives like this wouldn’t be needed if everybody took care of their streets, their communities and their parks and green spaces.
“We are fortunate to have many such excellent assets across the borough and more fortunate still to have so many dedicated and generous people willing to volunteer individually or with one of the 100 plus local community groups who look after the borough year-round.
“When residents step up and work with the council in this way it really does have a much bigger impact and allows limited resources to be allocated to where they are needed most.
“I want to thank everyone across the borough for all that they are doing to help keep our local neighbourhoods clean. It goes to show that community spirit really is alive within St Helens Borough, and outweighs the negative actions of a selfish few. If you are able to spare some time and want to help make a positive difference please consider getting involved in the Great British Spring Clean.”
If you are interested in getting involved, the council can help you to set up your own community litter group or put you in touch with an existing group within the borough.
Make your pledge at www.keepbritaintidy.org.
To book litter pickers, orange bin bags, and a waste collection, please email loveyourstreet@sthelens.gov.uk or call 01744 676789.
For more information and some top litter-picking tips, visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/loveourstreets.
Please help us to keep St Helens Borough tidy by disposing of dog waste and litter properly, and reporting litter and dog fouling to us at www.sthelens.gov.uk/report-a-problem or by calling our Contact Centre on 01744 676789.
