As autumn arrives and the nights begin to draw in, communities across County Durham are being invited to take part in the Big Autumn Clean.
Durham County Council has launched the new seasonal litter-picking campaign, building on the success of its annual Big Spring Clean.
Throughout September, residents, schools, community groups and businesses are being encouraged to get involved by litter picking in their communities.
This can be done by attending a series of organised events, or by arranging their own litter pick.
The Big Autumn Clean was officially launched with a beach clean at Crimdon, hosted in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust.
It saw 52 volunteers come together to collect 35 bags of waste, as well as a tyre, fishing wire and a carpet.
Cllr Kyle Genner, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, environment and police relations, said:
“People across County Durham rightly want to live in a clean and tidy environment but, like many places across the UK, litter has become a real issue. Recently in County Durham we announced a series of new measures to help tackle the problem, and one of those was the introduction of our Big Autumn Clean.
“The Big Autumn Clean builds on the huge success of our Big Spring Clean initiative, with the hope of reducing the accumulation of rubbish over the autumn and winter to keep our streets and spaces tidier into the new year.
“We’re incredibly heartened by the large number of volunteers and litter picking events we already have lined up, and we’d love for more people to get involved. Please get in touch if you’d like to do your bit to keep County Durham clean and tidy.”
Earlier this year, the Big Spring Clean saw 2,700 volunteers dedicate 5,517 hours to litter picks. Together, they collected 3,946 bags of litter across 442 organised events.
Those wanting to take part in the Big Autumn Clean can attend an organised event. Alternatively, residents can organise their own litter pick by contacting the council’s civic pride team.
Details of how to take part can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/bigautumnclean
