Taking action on litter in Winchester
Winchester City Council has added another string to its bow in its campaign to stamp out litter in the City by backing the launch of a new project to encourage members of the public to support work to remove litter from the streets.
In conjunction with the charity CleanupUk and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), it is encouraging the public to join the ever growing band of unsung heroes across the Winchester district who give up their free time to pick-up other people’s rubbish. Their hard work and dedication helps to counteract the actions of those who thoughtlessly drop litter and display a lack of respect for their local environment.
A new website www.litteraction.org.uk, is aimed at informing and supporting volunteer litter-collectors and includes all the advice and information that a volunteer group needs in order to operate. It also allows local volunteer groups to have their own web page; to keep members informed of news and events. Those who want to volunteer to keep their area clean will also be able to find their nearest group, or even start their own.
As part of its campaign to tackle litter issues across the District, the City Council has pledged to help all volunteers by donating equipment and arranging collection of litter bags. The Council has already been supporting the established Winchester Litterpickers group since it started in 1995.
Councillor Frank Pearson, Portfolio for Environment said:
"We are delighted to be involved with this campaign which will give our community-spirited volunteers the support they need; making it easier for more people to get involved. We greatly value their contribution and will offer any support we can to help with their efforts."
CleanupUK Chief Executive, George Monck, explained:
"The aim of CleanupUK is very simple – it will for the first time unite the estimated 3,000 existing volunteer collecting groups around the UK into an active movement and, by promoting a sense of fun, community and purpose among those who feel strongly about the litter issue, significantly increase the number of volunteers who collect litter. The www.litteraction.org.uk website now makes it simple for anyone to get involved in collecting litter, which research has shown to be people’s number one environmental concern."