Let’s show some pride in our towns and clean up grotspots
LET’S KEEP Calderdale tidy that’s the message from council chiefs in a new anti-litter campaign unveiled this week.
The authority is urging residents to do their bit locally for a national Great British Spring Clean drive where people and groups pledge to clear their communities and neighbourhoods of rubbish by picking up rubbish.
This year’s mass campaign, from tomorrow to April 10, calls on families, neighbours, friends and colleagues to join forces and pledge to pick a bag of litter from nearby streets and beauty spots.
Councillor Jenny Lynn, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “We are proud of the work that Council teams, volunteers and local communities do all year round to keep Calderdale looking clean and beautiful.
“We know that many people want to do their bit to care for the environment, especially during the current climate emergency and since the pandemic began.
“During the Great British Spring Clean, we’re calling on the borough’s kindness and encouraging people to get together, get out in the great outdoors and be part of something that
will make a big difference to where we live.”
In Calderdale, the Council’s Green Spaces and Street Scene team is holding a clean-up event on every day of the Great British Spring Clean, visiting one of the borough’s 17 wards each day from 10am.
Everyone in the community is welcome to join in and equipment will be provided.
The national call to action comes as Keep Britain Tidy reveals taking eco action in the outdoors appears to be critical to the wellbeing of our communities, with significant benefits to people’s mental health.
In a survey of people who took part in 2021, 86% said volunteering helped improve their mood. More than half (52%) agreed it helped them meet new
people and make friends, and a staggering 91% agreed they felt more pride in their local area after participating.
As well as polluting streets, parks and beaches, litter harms wildlife, pets and cattle, and costs taxpayers a significant amount of money to clean up.
The Great British Spring Clean, now in its seventh year, brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the environment and the charity is keen to stress litter picking can be accessible to everybody with the right resources.
The charity reports a significant increase in the number of people litter picking in the great outdoors to help their mental wellbeing, following the additional pressures triggered by the pandemic.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton, said: “In the past two years our outdoor spaces and places have mattered to us more than ever before as more people have embraced them during the pandemic – and with this we know local authorities like Calderdale Council have had an extra battle on their hands to keep them clean and green.
“During this year’s Great British Spring Clean, we are calling on everyone in Calderdale to harness the power of collective environmental action by taking on the #BigBagChallenge.
“Whether it’s pledging to pick just one bag, or more, we can all carry out small acts of kindness - for our planet and for ourselves.”
Calderdale clean-up events include: March 25, Kershaw estate, Luddendenfoot; March 26, Beech Rec, Sowerby Bridge;
March 27, Railway Street, Rastrick; March 28, St Peter’s Church, Sowerby: March 29, Ackroyd Park, Boothtown;
March 30, Morrisons, Elland;
March 31, Centre Vale Park, Todmorden; April 1, The Stray, Lightcliffe; April 2, West View/ Church Lane, Stainland; April 3, Arden Road, Halifax; April 4, St Martin’s Church, Brighouse;
April 5, Shroggs Park, Lee Mount; April 6, Shelf Hall Park;
April 7, Mixenden Library;
April 8, Gaddings Dam, Todmorden; April 9, Queen’s Road Neighbourhood Centre, Halifax;
April 10, Sandhall Lane/Gibbet Street, Highroad Well, Halifax.
We know that many people want to do their bit to care for the environment,