Dartford Council is throwing it’s support behind Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Great British Spring Clean’ campaign and is encouraging local litter picking groups and Dartford residents to take part in…

“The Great Dartford Litterpick’, from the 22nd March – 23rd April 2019″

Council Leader Jeremy Kite says he’s looking for local heroes willing to help transform Dartford into one of the keenest, greenest and cleanest towns in the country and promises that the Council will provide all the equipment, support and incentives for people of all ages to take part. 

The Council will equip Dartford’s litter picking ‘local heroes’ with picking sticks, hi-vis jackets, black sacks and gloves as well as plenty of advice and help. 

Dartford Council is also providing a charity pot so that every litter picker can help local good causes as they clean up the environment.  Every participant will get a vote to decide where a share of the £2,500 charity pot will go.

The Great Dartford Litterpick is open to any new or existing litter picking group, school, club, business or individual.

Dartford Science and Technology College are championing the initiative by encouraging children and staff to get involved in ‘The Great Dartford Schools’ Litterpick’. 

Councillor Jeremy Kite, Leader of the Council said, “Councils spend lots of time and money picking up litter and whilst we willingly do it it’s frustrating because litter is a wholly avoidable blight on our community. If everyone took responsibility for their own litter footprint our communities would be cleaner, greener and safer for wildlife.

It’s only a tiny number of people who drop litter but they cause a big, big mess. The Great Dartford Litterpick is designed to show that local communities care about our environment and that people want to do something about it in partnership with the Council’s own cleansing teams. Dartford is blessed with a number of dedicated litter picking groups and individuals and I want to thank them all. They make a huge difference and play a big role in raising the profile of the scourge of litter.” 

The Great British Spring Clean is a national initiative in partnership with the Daily Mail which takes place from 22 March – 23 April 2019 and has already received huge support from across the nation, including from Prime Minister Theresa May and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The Great Dartford Spring Clean will help Keep Britain Tidy reach their goal of 500,000 people taking action to clean up streets, parks and beaches across the country.

If you would like to be part of the Great Dartford Litterpick by organising your own community litterpick between 22 March – 23 April, please contact waste@dartford.gov.uk and the Council will provide you with litter pickers, sacks, gloves and arrange to pick up any rubbish collected from an agreed collection point when you’re done. You can also register your litter pick as part of the Great British Spring Clean by visiting https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/

For more information please visit https://www.dartford.gov.uk/greatdartfordlitterpick or email press@dartford.gov.uk or call 01322 343440.