Spotless September crosses halfway point with more than 180 litter picks undertaken so far

Renfrewshire’s Spotless September event has passed the hallway point and 184 litter picks have been undertaken so far, with more than 300 volunteers removing over 1,200 bags of litter from the local environment.

A mainstay of Renfrewshire Council’s award-winning Team Up to Clean Up campaign, the event brings together the council and the community to make a positive difference to the local area.

Volunteers, community groups and schools are provided with sanitised litter pickers and equipment to take part in their litter picks, as well as information on how to stay safe while collecting, and the council’s StreetScene team collect every bag of litter from volunteers at an agreed location after their litter picks.

As part of Spotless September, council officers have also visited eight primary schools so far  throughout Renfrewshire to teach young people about the campaign and encourage them to be an example for the next generation – with further visits arranged for primary and secondary schools later this month and into October.

Councillor Michelle Campbell, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “The Team Up to Clean Up campaign carries out fantastic work all year round, but Spotless September is a great opportunity to highlight the range of work going on across our communities.

“Thousands of volunteers are taking part in the campaign and it’s refreshing to see the enthusiasm and desire to make our local environment cleaner, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to provide the necessary support to volunteers as well as enhancing our own activities.

“The campaign is as much about changing the culture of littering as it is about picking up what’s been dropped, and we want to reduce the amount of litter we see dropped on our streets and encourage people to take pride in where they live.

“So, please use the bins across Renfrewshire or take your litter home with you and thank you to all of the incredible volunteers taking part in Team Up to Clean Up – you’re making a real difference to our communities.”

The Team Up to Clean Up campaign has seen a multi-million-pound investment into improving the local environment in Renfrewshire and has seen the area’s street cleanliness improve significantly since its launch in 2017.

The campaign has seen additional investment in road sweeping, fly tipping removal and litter picking, as well as support for volunteers to carry out litter picking in their local communities

For more information, and to find out how to take part, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/SpotlessSeptember., email wardens.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk or join the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/teamuptocleanup.