Kelsale-cum-Carlton Parish Council backs
Keep Britain Tidy’s million-mile mission to clean up the country
In the past 12 months, people have relied on the places close to home – the local park or beach – as somewhere to escape to, to exercise and to play.
Now, Kelsale-cum-Carlton Parish Council has pledged its support for Keep Britain Tidy’s annual campaign and is asking all its residents to do their bit and clear up the litter that can blight these places as part of its Great British Spring Clean.
The campaign, which runs from 28 May – 13 June 2021, calls on the public to pledge to clean-up and help the charity achieve a million miles of litter-picking.
This year’s campaign comes as the charity has reported a massive increase in the number of people who have started litter-picking during the various lockdowns. It has seen the number of #LitterHeroes grow by a third in less than 12 months.
The Great British Spring Clean, now in its sixth year, brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the environment on our doorstep. In 2019, more than half a million #LitterHeroes collected just under a million bags of litter, weighing around 4,308 tons.
Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “The Great British Spring Clean would not be possible without the support of local authorities, including Parish Councils.
“We have all spent a lot more time in our local area in the past year and have come to realise just how important our local park or green space is for our mental and physical health.
“We need to care for these spaces and the Great British Spring Clean is an opportunity for everyone to take a small action that, collectively, can make a big difference.
“Whether you commit to do five minutes or five hours, every single pledge will help us reach our million-mile target and clear many tonnes of litter pollution from our environment.”
Pledge to get involved today at www.keepbritaintidy.org/gbspringclean
In 2019, 563,163 volunteers collected 997,377 bags of litter.
In 2020, 289 local authorities and 407 town and parish councils took part, with 216 MPs also pledging support.
Enhanced wellbeing
Of those who took part in the Great British Spring Clean 2020 [postponed to September due to March 2020 lockdown] and responded to Keep Britain Tidy’s survey, many report positive mental health benefits;
- 89% agreed that they enjoyed volunteering in GBSC 2020 and felt that they made a difference in their local area
- 78% feel more pride for their local area
- 64% feel more part of their local community
- 71% feel more aware of the litter issue in their local area
- 79% agreed that taking part helped improve their mood
- 51% agreed that it helped them to be more active
- 44% agreed the campaign helped them feel less anxious about what is happening in the world right now and
- 43% said it helped them feel less isolated.
