HALF A MILLION HEROES!
It’s history in the making as litter-pick army soars past target
THE Great British Spring Clean surpassed all expectations yesterday – by recruiting more than half a million people to join in the UK’s fight against litter.
For too long, the thoughtless minority have made our towns, countryside and beaches look ugly and depressing.
But after a campaign organised by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Daily Mail, a huge army of supporters have pledged to clean up their part of the nation.
The huge numbers make it one of the most successful environmental campaigns ever.
It got under way on Friday – kicking off with primary schools – and over the weekend, legions threw themselves into litter- picks across the country. Already thousands have helped spruce up shopping parades, cities, villages, beaches, parks and river banks. Heartfelt thanks from this newspaper and all the campaign’s supporters go out to each and every helper.
The total was 512,227 volunteers – already more than the half a million we hoped for. The tally includes more than 100,000 schoolchildren, some as young as three. Already that’s up on last year, which was an impressive 370,000. And with a month still to go – the campaign ends on April 23 – there’s still time to sign up.
Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: ‘We did it! It is truly humbling to have more than half a million amazing volunteers out taking part in our Great British Spring Clean, picking up the litter that blights our country, and I would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of them.’
At one litter-pick in York this weekend, RSPCA National Wildlife Coordinator Inspector Geoff Edmond said: ‘What we need to remember is that litter can kill wildlife. Even something as simple as a plastic bag that blows away can cause death.’
Last week, the Mail revealed that the Government has made almost £10million available to councils to help equip local volunteer groups clean up their areas. Yesterday Network Rail pledged to spend an extra £1million on cleaning up land around lines and stations. Hundreds of councils are supplying litter-pickers and bags, and carting off the rubbish.
The campaign has been backed by everyone from Prince William to Theresa May. Meanwhile a survey by shopping app Ubamarket found that eight out of ten people think there is too much plastic packaging on products. It also found 65 per cent want to switch to more environmentally-friendly products but feel that they are much more expensive.