Great British September Clean Takes Place in the UK

Throughout Great Britain, the 'Great British September Clean' program has begun in an effort to remove litter from the streets of England, Scotland, and Wales.

Pledge to pick

Run by the independent environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, the Great British September Clean is an initiative which sees thousands of people 'pledge to pick' litter from their local area. So far, almost 9,000 people have joined the program, promising to devote a certain amount of time to the campaign between September 11^th - September 27^th.

The litter pickers can pledge as little as just 15 minutes to the Great British September Clean, with organisers encouraging people to join in on their way home from school or while walking their dogs.

Plastic bottle waste

According to a survey that was commissioned by the Department For Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (also known as Defra) to promote the Great British September Clean campaign, a staggering 75% of the little that's dropped on Great British streets is from single use drinks containers. This includes plastic water bottles, drinks cans, and coffee cups.

While developments such as MRP software are aiming to cut waste at the start of the manufacturing supply chain, it's clear that British consumers still need to cut back on disposable waste and make sure that they dispose of their rubbish properly.

The report found that 750ml plastic bottles make up 24.4% of the total waste, with the remaining 50.6% comprising larger bottles, glass bottles, coffee cups, takeaway soft drinks cups, and cartons.

Despite the fact these items can be recycled, the items which end up on our streets are far more likely to end up in landfill than in the appropriate recycling facilities.

Amongst the non-drinks related items, cigarette butts are also one of the most littered items on Great British streets.

Cut litter, end waste, education future generations

Through its annual litter-picking campaign, the Great British September Clean aims to cut back on the amount of litter in public places. Studies show that littering can cost the government millions of pounds every year, while waste products also cause serious risks to the local wildlife and environment.

As well as improving public spaces in the short-term, the campaign aims to educate future generations about the dangers of litter and plastic pollution. Its environmental education program, Eco-Schools, is the biggest scheme of its kind in the world. In fact, more than 2.3 million children are actively involved in Eco-Schools, with participants coming from a wide range of countries including Madagascar and Brazil.

In the UK, the scheme has already cut down on an estimated 248 wheelie bins of rubbish and saved enough water to fill 901,000 reusable water bottles every year. Schools which sign up to join the campaign save enough money on energy that they can buy approximately 350 new reading books every year.

Year-round campaigns

The Great British September Clean is just one of Keep Britain Tidy's campaigns. The organisation also runs the 'Great Big School Clean', 'Waste Less, Live More', 'Love Parks Week', and 'Keep It, Bin It'.

Running throughout the year, these schemes are designed to encourage school-aged children and young people to look after their local area and consider the environmental impacts of waste.