Communities in Renfrewshire will Team Up for a Spotless September

Renfrewshire is set to sparkle as hundreds of volunteers show their support for the latest event in the Team Up to Clean Up campaign.

Every town and village in Renfrewshire has been challenged to make it a Spotless September by hosting a clean-up in their area, whether that’s through a lone litter pick or every class in a school taking part.

Litter pickers, bibs, bags will be provided by the council to allow volunteers to take part in their clean up, with the collected rubbish also being cleared away by the council’s StreetScene team afterwards.

Lyle Brown, Principal Teacher at Lochfield Primary, said: “The Spotless September initiative has been fantastic at getting the children more involved within their own community and helps to foster care and respect for their local area.

“The children loved taking part last year and are always astounded by the volume of litter collected during the campaign. It helps them recognise the impact that litter can have on their local and wider community and as teachers, we can use this as a catalyst for further learning around the topic of living in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way.

“We are all excited to be taking part again this year and doing our bit for our community.”

The campaign has proved a success with the local community and saw a 474% rise in community clean ups in its first full year, with more than 7000 volunteers having taken part in the campaign so far.

The Big Spring Clean in April saw more than 1750 volunteers take part in 103 events across the area, with more than 1850 bags of rubbish cleared from the streets.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “I can’t wait to don my bib to take part in events throughout September and I hope that everyone can join me and the hundreds of other volunteers in making a difference to Renfrewshire.

“We continue to see so many enthusiastic people making our area cleaner and brighter and Spotless September is a chance to bring more people into the campaign.

“It would be fantastic if every community in Renfrewshire could host a litter pick. We were close to seeing this happen in April’s Big Spring Clean so fingers crossed that we see this happen in September!”

The Team Up to Clean Up campaign forms part of a five-year, £2.5million investment across five years to make a real difference to the cleanliness of the streets in Renfrewshire and improve the local environment.

As well as the support from local communities, an enhanced programme of operational activity is underway to clean gullies, sweep the roads and repair the roads infrastructure to ensure the campaign is a joint approach between the council and its residents.

If you’re keen to take part in the Spotless September Challenge, call 0300 300 1375, email wardens.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk or visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/SpotlessSeptember.