Residents set to clean up

3:40pm Friday 29th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

LITTER will be picked up from Kidderminster streets when residents get their hands dirty in a clean-up.

The Big Tidy Up campaign, which runs throughout September, is aimed at encouraging the community to take part in local clean-up activities across the district by organising their own events.

A group of residents from the Horsefair area of Broadwaters have already registered to take part and will be tidying up the streets on September 13.

Wyre Forest District Council has been running a litter enforcement campaign reminding people they can be fined for dropping litter and encouraging everyone to use the litter bins around the district.

The Horsefair tidy up, organised by the Horsefair, Broadwaters and Greenhill Partnership, will tackle rubbish at the Radford Avenue Children’s Centre from 10am until 2pm.

Conservative Wyre Forest district councillor, Tracey Onslow, cabinet member for operational services, said: “We encourage local residents to get involved with the big tidy up and take action against litter. Cleaner streets benefit everyone in the community and by not dropping litter you are saving taxpayers’ money.

“The council is committed to improving the environment for everyone in Wyre Forest and we welcome any initiative which gets the community involved.”

Figures released by Keep Britain Tidy, organisers of the campaign, reveal that council taxpayers in the UK fork out £500 million a year to clean the streets, with more than 30 million tonnes of litter being collected from British streets each year.

Justin Bryant, community safety officer for the partnership, said: “This clean-up will show others that we care about the future of our local environment and that we are not prepared to live, work and play in an area that is blighted by rubbish.

“What is good about working together like this is it creates a sense of community and for some of our younger volunteers it is their first taste of active citizenship."

Residents who want to organise a big tidy up in their area should contact Tracy Reck, Wyre Forest Matters Partnership manager, on 01562 732792 or by email tracy.reck@wyreforestdc.gov.uk.