Join the Big Spring Clean

Once again, the Council has teamed up with LitterFree Durham & Darlington to urge local residents, community groups, schools and businesses to give their area a spring clean in the annual litter-picking campaign.

This year’s Big Spring Clean, will run until 17 April and will see litter picks organised across County Durham and Darlington.

Councillor Mark Wilkes, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: “We are pleased to be working with our partners on this worthy initiative. The Big Spring Clean is a fantastic opportunity for our communities to come together and take positive action for the benefit of their area and environment.

“We encourage as many residents as possible to take part by joining in with one of our many litter picks or organised drop-in sessions. There are many volunteers across the county already, whose passion is making a significant difference to our communities.

“If we can motivate others to join in, we can help ensure County Durham looks its best at all times.”

During last year’s Big Spring Clean, more than 2,000 volunteers across County Durham gave up a total of 5,202 hours of their own time to pick litter, with more than 3,000 bags of rubbish being collected.

This year, as well as a number of litter picks, there will be a series of drop-in sessions taking place across the county including one at Chester-le-Street library on Saturday 25 March.

At each session, volunteers will be able to speak to civic pride officers, ask questions and pledge to litter pick for an hour each month.

Those who sign the pledge will also receive a free set of litter picking equipment to take away.

Get a full list of Big Spring Clean events in County Durham and details of how to get involved.