Take your litter home! National Trust gets behind Spring Clean

THE National Trust urged visitors to take their rubbish home with them as it pledged its support for the Daily Mailbacked Great British Spring Clean.

It called on its 5.6million members to ‘play their part’ in maintaining Britain’s green spaces.

The Mail has helped to launch Keep Britain Tidy’s litter picking initiative, starting on May 28, by asking readers to roll up their sleeves to clear their local area of rubbish. More than 56,000 people have so far pledged to clean up around 383,000 miles of the landscape.

The National Trust, which looks after more than 500 sites, said rubbish not only spoils its beauty spots but can also detract from its ‘important conservation work’. The warning comes weeks after Britons left a trail of waste – including discarded barbeques and empty bottles – in parks and on beaches as lockdown easing coincided with unseasonably warm weather.

Last year, National Trust sites were plagued by anti-social behaviour, with ‘fly camping’ tourists leaving mounds of waste. National Trust director general Hilary McGrady said: ‘People are understandably desperate to reconnect with each other and we are really pleased to welcome them to places we care for. But we urge people to act responsibly and please take their litter home.

‘A huge amount of time and effort goes into ensuring these places remain beautiful, as well as work for nature and the public. Littering in particular can detract from the important conservation work we do.’

Mrs McGrady said the trust was backing the Great British Spring Clean ‘to encourage people to play their part by helping to maintain these beautiful places’. She added: ‘Our research shows that those who participate in nature and take an active interest are more likely to work hard to protect it.’