Readers rushing to join our Great Plastic Pick Up

WHAT a start! Daily Mail readers the length and breadth of the country are rushing to join the Great Plastic Pick Up.

In only the first 48 hours after the campaign was launched on Saturday, hundreds signed up for the litter picking weekend in May. A remarkable 109 pick ups have been organised.

And that army of volunteers is growing fast. Our aim is to clean up beauty spots, beaches, streets and parks and step up our vital battle against the scourge of plastic.

The campaign has been backed by Prime Minister Theresa May and celebrities including Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham. Yesterday the campaign was endorsed by Keep Britain Tidy ambassador and TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp. She said: ‘This is a fantastic campaign that will clear millions of pieces of plastic litter from our country. We need people to understand that littering is bad for us, bad for the environment and is having a devastating impact on our oceans.

‘I hope everyone will join in The Great Plastic Pick Up and help the Mail and Keep Britain Tidy clean up our country.’

For the first 3,000 people or schools who sign up, the Mail is sending a special pack of recyclable litter bags to get you started. We will also send professional cleaners to where the three best litter-picking teams live and help transform their local areas with a proper spring clean.

Plus, there’s a fantastic prize for the top litter-picking school – an all-expenses-paid visit to a Sea Life Centre alongside Chris Packham to see some of the marine life you will have helped.

The pick up dates are on Friday, May 11; Saturday, May 12; and Sunday, May 13.

÷The plastic bag charge – campaigned for the Daily Mail – is ‘one of the most popular taxes’ ever introduced, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said yesterday. The 5p per-bag levy, introduced in England in 2015, has reduced the number of single-use plastic bags bought by around 90 per cent.