This week, we are launching our 2024 Keep Elmbridge Tidy campaign as we are work towards a cleaner and more enjoyable borough to live in and visit.
What the Keep Elmbridge Tidy campaign is all about
We know from your feedback that littering and fly-tipping are on-going concerns that you want us to tackle more effectively.
Most residents take pride of where they live and take litter home but unfortunately, there is still a minority who will drop litter indiscriminately, spoiling others’ enjoyment of their time outdoors.
We remain committed to addressing the litter issue across the borough. Over the last two years, we have installed over 500 bins in our green spaces and high streets and increased the frequency of our litter and fly-tip patrols. We have also started the ‘Keep Elmbridge Tidy’ campaign in spring 2023 with on-site posters, banners and messages on our social media channels and newsletters.
This year, we are stepping up our anti-litter campaign and hope it will get residents talking and sharing the message that littering is not acceptable even more widely.
Getting communities onboard
With longer, brighter, and hopefully warmer days just around the corner and the Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean about to kick off, we want to invite communities to come together locally and get involved to help us tackle the littering issue head-on.
Litter-picking and more litter-picking
Free equipment for litter-picking groups
We know many community groups are already involved in cleaning and tidying up Elmbridge and we are grateful for their support and excellent job. We understand that sourcing the equipment can be costly and time consuming. To make it easier to access, we have purchased new kits with some of our Shared Prosperity Fund. They are available to local litter-picking groups to collect and keep for free.
Monthly Litter Heroes litter-picking competition
From April to July 2024, we are inviting groups to take part in a monthly litter-picking competition with a chance to win a prize and have their fantastic work showcased on our channels.
Finding new recruits and setting up new litter-picking groups
In the spring and summer months, we will be encouraging others to join local litter-picking groups or setting up their own.
Help is at hand with the Litter-Picking Hub
We have equipment to borrow for free via our Litter Picking Hub for anybody who wants to get involved. And because we want everybody to stay safe while litter-picking, we have put online a set of practical guidelines to follow.
A cleaner, brighter and greener Elmbridge for children
£100 prize for Great Big School Clean winners
We believe that no one is too small to make a big difference. We know that children are great advocates of the environment, and we want all schools, nurseries, forest schools and youth groups (such as cubs, scouts, brownies, guides, sea cadets, etc.) who take part in the Great Big School Clean to come forward and let us know how they get on by sending us photos. Once they have chosen their favourite park/open space to tidy up, we will be able to assist by lending the litter equipment for free and collect the bags. The group who collects the most bags during the Great Big School Clean will win a £100 garden centre to invest in new or existing recycling scheme/project.
Stop litterbugs competition
We would also like to encourage children to take part in the ‘Stop the litterbugs’ poster competition (from April to June 2024). The winning design and runners-up will be displayed in the Elmbridge noticeboards, website and on our social media channels in late spring/summer.
Easter Shout Holiday and Elmbridge Museum free drop-in activities: Operation Recycling
To inspire future generations, our Easter Shout! Holiday and Elmbridge Museum free drop-in sessions will be offering free fun recycling arts and crafts and games sessions in local parks. We invite families to come along with any recyclables to be turned into art.
Engaging with our friendly dog walking community
People often report dog litter on our streets and countryside sites and we understand it is an emotive issue. This spring, we are launching a series of nature friendly dog walks to inform dog owners and walkers about the wildlife on our countryside sites and how to keep our local environment and rare species thriving by picking up after dogs. The message strongly remains to pick it up and use any bin – any bin will do!
Getting the message across
We will share our #keepelmbridgetidy messages across our social media channels, in our residents’ newsletters, website and local noticeboards. We hope that in turn they will be shared via our growing number of litter pickers who are very active in all parts of Elmbridge and by all those who support a clean and sustainable environment.
How you can help
Ways you can help:
- please make sure you use the bins available on our streets and countryside sites
- report damaged or overflowing bins online by scanning the QR code on bins
- alternatively, you can report damaged or overflowing bins on our website
- to borrow litter-picking equipment, email greenspaces@elmbridge.gov.uk
- for details of litter pickups in your area follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X
Councillor Simon Waugh, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Commercial Strategy, said, ‘Parks and green spaces have always played an important role in keeping people in Elmbridge healthy, active, and relaxed as well as being beautiful spaces to enjoy. In spring and summer, we are seeing an increase in anti-social behaviour and littering. This is unacceptable and we will not tolerate a small minority spoiling our parks and green spaces for others. We are hoping the Keep Elmbridge Tidy campaign will give parks users and visitors a reminder and a clear call to action to behave appropriately, be responsible and considerate of others’.
Cllr Tilling, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, ‘We want communities to get involved in the ‘Keep Elmbridge Tidy’ campaign and take pride in their area. We all have a part to play in making sure Elmbridge is a clean, green and can be enjoyed by everyone. We hope this campaign will draw the attention of residents and visitors and encourage them to think twice about dropping litter. Working together, we can make Elmbridge a borough we can all be proud of”.
We hope that the coordinated approach of the ‘Keep Elmbridge Tidy’ campaign with our community, residents, and stakeholders will translate into positive results.
You can find further information at:
- Keep Britain Tidy
- find out when bins are next to be collected in your local area or green space
- sign up to receive the residents’ newsletter