Showing pride in our places: Derby City Council supports residents pledging to pick one bag of litter for charity’s Great British Spring Clean campaign

Derby City Council is today encouraging residents and businesses in Derby to pledge to do their bit to clear up the litter in the city during the Great British Spring Clean 2023.

This year’s mass campaign, from 17 March to 2 April, brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the environment on our doorstep - and the charity is keen to stress litter picking can be accessible to everybody with the right resources.

Derby City Council is calling on residents to show pride in their area by pledging on Keep Britain Tidy’s website to pick a bag or more of litter, helping make a huge difference to the environment.
As well as being good for the environment, after the 2022 campaign, 85% of people who took part said they felt more pride for their local area.

A post-campaign survey of participants also shows 71% agreed that they feel more a part of their local community and 69% agreed that they are more aware of the litter issues in their local area.

As well as polluting our streets, parks and beaches, litter harms wildlife, domestic pets and cattle. In the 2021/22 financial year, cleaning up illegally dumped waste cost Derby taxpayers £308,480.

The Great British Spring Clean, now in its eighth year, saw people up and down the country come together last year to clean up nearly half a million bags of litter.

This year’s campaign is made possible thanks to media partner Clear Channel, as well as supporting partners KFC, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Mars Wrigley, Coca-Cola, Walkers and Pepsi MAX. We also thank players of People’s Postcode Lottery for raising funds to support this campaign.

Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said:

The Great British Spring Clean simply would not be possible without the backing of our local authority partners.

We are so grateful for the ongoing support from Derby City Council and residents.

Now into its eighth year, the Great British Spring Clean is a fantastic way for people to really show their pride in where they live, and connect with like-minded residents, while taking serious and immediate action to protect the environment on their doorstep.

During this year’s campaign, we are calling on everyone to show #PrideinPlace and help us harness the power of collective environmental action by taking on the #BigBagChallenge. It’s inspiring to see so many councils have made a commitment this year to support this vital call to action to protect our environment.

Local Authorities play a critical role in engaging and supporting volunteers on the ground. Derby can feel proud to see their armies of #LitterHeroes volunteers carrying out these acts of kindness to make the Derby a cleaner, safer place for our future generations.

Councillor Jerry Pearce, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Spaces and Leisure added:

We’re very grateful that so many Derby residents take pride in their community and the Great British Spring Clean continues to be a great catalyst to build further pride and help our communities come together.

We’ll shortly be releasing details of events taking place during the campaign that residents can get involved in. Please do come along and get involved!

Pledge to get involved today on the Keep Britian Tidy website and support us on social media with the hashtag #GBSpringClean and #BigBagChallenge