Residents encouraged to take part in the Great British Spring Clean

Members of Sheffield Litter Pickers at a previous litter picking event

The Great British Spring Clean kicks into action this weekend and Sheffield residents are being urged to get involved by organising their own community litter picks.

The two-week campaign, which starts on Saturday, 16 March, is spearheaded by Keep Britain Tidy and being supported by Sheffield City Council, in conjunction with Amey, contractors for the council’s Streets Ahead programme.

The equipment, which will include litter pickers, bags and stickers as well as disposable gloves, will be freely available from all council-operated libraries within the city and while community groups are encouraged to organise litter picks, the equipment will also be available to other groups as well as individuals.

Safety needs to be a priority when litter picking and areas suitable for picking include pavements, verges and adjoining highways land. Collections must not be made from households, privately-owned land and roads.

Any hazardous waste, such as hypodermic needles, drugs waste, chemicals, asbestos, broken glass and waste collected from rivers should not be picked up but reported to the council via www.sheffield.gov.uk/pollution-nuisance/organise-litter-picks so it can be safely collected.

All collected litter should be placed in the bags and tied securely when they are full, and the litter does not need to be separated as that will be done by the council’s collection partners.

Once the litter pick is completed, bags should safely and tidily left together in a place which is accessible by a large vehicle before contacting the council to arrange for a collection via www.sheffield.gov.uk/pollution-nuisance/organise-litter-picks

Failure to arrange a collection of the bags could be seen as fly-tipping.

Councillor Joe Otten, Chair of the Waste and Street Scene Policy Committee at Sheffield City Council, said:

“As we head into spring, the Great British Spring Clean is a great opportunity for people to get out in the fresh air and into their communities.

“We all want to live in clean and attractive areas and by providing litter picking equipment in our libraries, we can ensure those who want to make a difference can do so easily with the proper equipment.

“The environment belongs to everyone and litter picking is a simple action that anyone can do to make an immediate and visible difference to the place where they live, work and play.

“While this is just a two-week campaign, I’d really like communities to see the benefits of keeping their environment litter free and continue with litter picks throughout the rest of the year.”

Linda Ball from Sheffield Litter Pickers also encouraged local communities to get involved and she said:

“The Sheffield Litter Pickers would like to encourage everyone to get outside and help make this city a cleaner place.

“It doesn’t have to be a big undertaking – even a few minutes tidying your road now and again can make a huge difference. We all feel better for it.”

* For more information on arranging a litter pick go to www.sheffield.gov.uk/pollution-nuisance/organise-litter-picks

For more information on the Great British Spring Clean go to www.keepbritaintidy.org

Litter picking equipment will be at the following libraries:

• Central Library (Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield, S1 1XZ)
• Chapeltown Library (Nether Ley Avenue, Sheffield, S35 1AE)
• Crystal Peaks Library (1-3 Peak Square, Crystal Peaks Complex, Waterthorpe, Sheffield, S20 7PH
• Darnall Library (Britannia Road, Sheffield, S9 5JG)
• Ecclesall Library (120 Ecclesall Road South, Sheffield, S11 9PL)
• Firth Park Library (443 Firth Park Road, Sheffield, S5 6QQ)
• Highfield Library (London Road, Sheffield, S2 4NF)
• Hillsborough Library (Middlewood Road, Sheffield S6 4HD)
• Manor Library (Ridgeway Road, Sheffield S12 2SS)
• Parson Cross Library (The Learning Zone, 320 Wordsworth Avenue, S5 8NL)
• Stocksbridge Library (Stocksbridge Library, Manchester Road, Sheffield S36 1DH)

Woodseats Library (The Roddick Building 900 Chesterfield Road, Sheffield S8 0SH