Community litter picks
Litter remains a big problem across the country. Not only is it unsightly, but it devalues the local area, pollutes the environment, causes harm to residents and wildlife and is expensive to remove, which ultimately costs council tax payers money. Councils in England spend more than £700 million on street cleaning services every year.
Marine litter is a global issue and although Dacorum is not coastal, 80 per cent of marine litter originates from land, as it is often washed there through waterways and drains.
Great British Spring Clean
Each year we support Keep Britain Tidy’s litter-picking campaign, the Great British Spring Clean. This campaign aims to encourage as many people as possible from across the UK to hit the streets and clean up their local communities.
Organise your own litter pick
The Great British Spring Clean 2023 is taking place between 17 March and 2 April. If you would like to organise a litter pick during this time, please email cleansafegreen@dacorum.gov.uk. Equipment is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Join a litter pick
Lots of litter picks have already been organised to take place over the campaign period. The table below shows events open to any Dacorum resident to attend. If you would like to take part, please get in touch with the organiser to find out more details.
Community Litter Picks during the Great British Spring Clean 2023
| Group name |
Date and time of litter pick |
Area being litter picked |
Contact details |
Meeting place |
| Hastoe Residents |
Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 March |
Hastoe Village |
Sally Berrisford. Email sally_berrisford@yahoo.co.uk or call 01442 826862 |
Contact Sally for details |
| Tring Pickers |
10am. Sunday 26 March |
Station Road and surrounding area of Tring |
Lindsay Hankey. Email beechgrove5@yahoo.co.uk or call 07821 380080. |
Corner of Station Road and The Beeches |
| Berkhamsted Transition Town |
10am. Sunday 26 March |
Canal Fields, Berkhamsted |
Alex Haeri. Email alex.haeri@yahoo.co.uk or call 07789 205796. |
One team is meeting at the skate park in Canal Fields, Berkhamsted. Another team is meeting by the playground next to Everyone Active, Gossoms End, Berkhamsted. |
There are also many group litter picks organised over the Spring Clean period for Street Champions to get involved with. Register now to become a Street Champion.
In 2022, Keep Britain Tidy set the Big Bag Challenge, encouraging everyone to simply collect one bag of litter. In Dacorum, more than 320 volunteers joining in from around the borough. The volunteers collected more than 400 bags of rubbish, over half of which were recyclable litter.
Litter picking throughout the year
Organise your own litter pick
We can support you in organising a litter pick in your local area throughout the year. You can borrow litter-picking equipment from our Clean, Safe and Green department, and we can arrange for the bags of litter to be collected following your event.
If you would like to organise a litter pick, please call 01442 228000 and ask for 'Clean, Safe and Green' or email cleansafegreen@dacorum.gov.uk.
If you're interested in litter picking on a regular basis, you may want to register as a Street Champion. You'll be provided with your own kit filled with litter-picking equipment.
Find out more about some of the local volunteer litter pickers that help keep Dacorum clean, safe and green:
Free litter awareness talks for schools
Primary schools in Dacorum can get a free litter awareness talk or assembly. Litter-picking equipment can also be brought in for pupils to use in the school grounds and/or surrounding areas.
For more information, please call 01442 228000 and ask for 'Clean, Safe and Green' or email cleansafegreen@dacorum.gov.uk. Litter-picking equipment is loaned on a first come, first served basis.
For more information, including other initiatives we run or support, please visit our schools page.
