Bristol Clean-Up Day

One Sunday a year everyone in Bristol gears up to clear the streets and commons of litter. People in all neighbourhoods are issued with biodegradable bags and those long grabbing devices that street-cleaners use. Waste trucks then collect the full bags. It is built up as a communal thing so that everyone in the neighborhood gets out on the streets, into the parks, into the city centre, etc. If everyone is out doing it on the same day then it would be fun rather than a chore and people could feel good about themselves and their neighbourhoods. If it is successful it could then spread beyond Bristol to become a National Litter-Picking Day. You could also involve people like Bill Bryson from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, as well as a host of other (non-Z-list) celebrities. Publicity material could be made for schools, etc.  

Why the contribution is important

The idea is important because Bristol is full of litter and we need to change the way people think. On a Sunday morning the parks of Bristol are spilling over with litter left the night before. Common ground is full of tin cans and bags of dog poo. Wherever you go there is litter. We need to persuade people that littering is anti-social and the best way to do that is to show the litterers that other people give a damn. Oh, and it is important because we get to make Bristol beautiful! 

by user787463 on November 22, 2013 at 09:27AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.4
Based on: 34 votes

Comments

  • Posted by user734334 November 22, 2013 at 18:54

    Obviously brilliant!

  • Posted by user416121 November 22, 2013 at 19:04

    Great idea --- we need to concentrate on the children and have a massive education campaign alongside this action. Take them on visits to the waste disposal units/ sewage works. Let them see the 'litter journey.'Take them to the relevant Council departments where the price of littering can be explained. Provide Wallace and gromit style litter bins and talking bins anything to make them want to use them. Form a Junior Litter 'corps'.Continuous education on littering and responsible citizenship throughout their school life --Make it fun !

  • Posted by user872792 November 22, 2013 at 19:15

    Great idea!

    Would some how need to get this promoted in each local neighbourhood... Not quite sure how practical to promote this through local groups (community/church/scouts/schools/etc)?

    Maybe get local Tesco and Co-op and other businesses on every street corner to participate??!

  • Posted by user155827 November 24, 2013 at 15:53

    I really like this idea - benefits everyone and should not cost a lot to make a big environmental improvement. Also schools could get involved so that children learn about their responsibilities for local environment.

  • Posted by user848589 November 24, 2013 at 15:53

    This is simple and delivers such a strong message which is likely to gather widespread support if well marketed.

  • Posted by user857853 November 25, 2013 at 08:44

    Great idea. I would certainly support this. Having a sense of pride about your city is so important and this can so easily be achieved together to clean the streets and make Bristol a clean and tisy city too.

  • Posted by user536903 November 25, 2013 at 12:09

    This is great and fun idea.. This will encourage people to get on the streets , get to know the neighbours and also will be a good traffic calming scheme in the local neighbourhood

  • Posted by user516886 November 25, 2013 at 15:56

    I love this idea! It is also a great idea (Andyfrombath) to get local businesses to sponsor it.

  • Posted by user278913 November 26, 2013 at 22:15

    I love the idea, make it happen!

  • Posted by user251846 November 28, 2013 at 11:49

    May work in some 'posh' neighbourhoods, but not elsewhere. We just need to employ more people to keep the streets clean, as they do in Germany, and elswhere in Northern Europe.

  • Posted by user470534 December 09, 2013 at 21:45

    This is such a good idea, because it builds community, is good fun and cleans up Bristol at the same time. I have taken part in two litter pick-ups with Greenpeace and on both occasions we had such a sense of satisfaction, seeing all the litter we had picked up from the banks of the Avon and in a country lane, plagued with fly tipping. Even though it poured with rain on one occasion, we all went home wet and happy. This would not replace the regular litter service, but would be like an annual Spring Clean of the city.

  • Posted by user447986 December 10, 2013 at 21:09

    Extend this to things like removing stickers and their remains from posts and signs all round the city?

  • Posted by user412750 December 20, 2013 at 16:59

    What a great idea!

    At the end of the day, Bristol could be turned into a car-free zone for a couple of hours, so that everyone could walk the streets and marvel at how wonderful a clean city looks.

    What a sense of achievement all who participate will have!

  • Posted by user122507 December 20, 2013 at 18:06

    Good idea. I occasionally pick up litter in my street, where part of the problem is that people don't bag up their rubbish and it blows out of their bins and up the road.

    People storing their property on the street (in the form of cars) makes it difficult to keep streets clean.

  • Posted by user412750 December 20, 2013 at 18:24

    I'd like to add that one of the very worst and most depressing sights around Bristol is along the river Avon, going on the cycle/pedestrian path below Leigh Woods towards Pill. When the tide is out, the amount of rubbish particularly on the Somerset side shore, mostly plastic of various sorts, is truly jaw-dropping.

    In fact, I'd go so far as to rate it as one of the most depressing displays of rubbish I've seen anywhere, and I've seen it on lots of occasions, so it wasn't just a one-off. I suppose technically, it's not in Bristol, but who else is going to clean it up?

    It would be SO good to be able to clean it up!

  • Posted by user675375 January 03, 2014 at 23:56

    Great idea. Community litter picks are more fun than you'd think, and very satisfying.

  • Posted by user536903 January 06, 2014 at 14:32

    i am eagerly looking forward for that day!

  • Posted by user848220 December 24, 2014 at 10:22

    Thank you for submitting and sharing your idea. Earlier in the year the Mayor called on city residents to join him for a nationwide clean-up day on Saturday 13 September 2014 to pick up litter and help improve the environment we live in.

    On the day George Ferguson rolled up his sleeves to clear some of the rubbish littering streets in Bishopston and Redland, as local residents were carrying out their own clean-up events for Let’s do it! UK’s anti-waste movement.

    Find out about the nearest clean-up event to you, or how to organise your own event at www.letsdoituk.net More information and the Mayor’s stance on litter can be found at www.bristol.gov.uk/binit
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