Tidy up the Cotswolds - and join the Great British Spring Clean!

Research by Keep Britain Tidy - the charity behind the campaign - suggests that picking up other peoples rubbish is not just good for protecting our outside spaces but can improve our physical health and mental well-being too, by getting us more active and improving our mood.

In recognition of both the environmental good and clear health benefits, Cotswold District Council is offering to collect bags of rubbish filled by individuals and community groups who wish to take part in this year’s event. Bags must display a council-issue litter sticker to get picked up.

Cllr Andrew Doherty, Cabinet Member for the Environment, Waste and Recycling at Cotswold District Council, said: “We are delighted to support the Great British Spring Clean and the fantastic work which is being done to keep the district looking its best.

“Over the past year, more and more of us have come to recognise the important role our outdoor spaces play in improving our mental and physical well-being. The Great British Spring Clean is a great opportunity to get outside, whether in the countryside or closer to home, to help reduce the lasting effects that litter has on our environment while taking some time to enjoy everything our great outdoors has to offer.

“We would like to thank all those who sign up to take part over the next few weeks but our gratitude must also go to those often unsung litter heroes in our local communities, who quietly volunteer their time and do such a tremendous job collecting rubbish throughout the year.

“Residents who would like us to pick up bags are asked to get in touch as soon as possible and request their litter stickers.  This will make sure bags get collected quickly and make them easier to identify by our collection crews and street teams.”

To sign up for Great British Spring Clean event, members of the public can visit the Keep Britain Tidy website (www.keepbritaintidy.org) and pledge how many minutes or hours of litter picking they will undertake.  The amount of time pledged, will then be converted to an estimated number of miles walked, and counted towards the campaign’s target for this year of reaching a million miles.  The website also offers guidance on how to litter pick safely. 

Individuals or community groups wishing to pick up litter which will not fit in the normal rubbish bin can order their litter stickers by contacting Cotswold District Council’s customer services team on 01285 623000 or email customer.services@cotswold.gov.uk. 

The red stickers must be applied to bags of litter, which should then be presented beside the black refuse bin on the normal scheduled collection day, ready for Ubico crews to collect.

Residents are encouraged to recycle what items they can using their fortnightly kerbside service or by taking items to the local recycling banks.

Groups that are unable to take their bags of litter home, must contact Cotswold District Council to pre-arrange a collection.