We have had another busy few months at the Litter Partnership. We hope you enjoy this short round-up of our progress, and may wish to get involved too.

idverde’s ‘flexible litter-pick support service’ inspires CPRE to get involved

With the help of idverde, Winchester’s street scene contractor, we have continued to arrange weekly one-hour litter-picks for volunteers from Upham and Owslebury to help them keep the roads and lanes surrounding their villages clean and tidy.

Inspired by this group’s efforts, CPRE, the countryside charity, contacted the Litter Partnership to help them organise similar sessions for their members. The pilot for this scheme went well, and CPRE, with idverde’s support, are now rolling it out across the district.

Word is spreading across the Winchester district

Meanwhile, several other local people – from Twyford, Colden Common, Bishop’s Waltham, Curdridge and Hursley – have contacted the Litter Partnership to see what they can do to tackle the scourge of litter in their communities. Winchester City Councillor Sue Cook and Hampshire County Councillor Jan Warwick have been particularly active, and Flick Drummond, MP for Meon Valley, has recently joined one of litter-picks too.

We must also give special mention to Matt Keeble, a Bishop’s Waltham personal trainer, who now does regular ‘LitterFit’ sessions. Once again supported by idverde, Matt covers stretches of rural roads that are ‘lightly littered’, so that they can be cleared as part of a regular run. His record currently stands at 6.75 miles, which he ran in 1 hour 19 minutes, picking up two sacks of litter along the way (see images).

The Litter Partnership has also attracted interest from a range of other local businesses, each keen to do their bit to keep Winchester beautiful. For example, Rick Stein and Southern Water are both encouraging employees to join our expanding weekly litter-picks. Lastly, we continue our conversations with the Army Training Regiment in Winchester, which we hope will see ATR recruits join our efforts on a regular basis.

A huge team effort

To date, thanks to the Litter Partnership, over 30 volunteers across the Winchester district now cover 38 miles of road, picking up an average of 12 bags of rubbish per week. It’s a huge team effort. If you are interested in tackling the scourge of litter in your area, and want to do something about it, please contact hello@thelitterpartnership.org. We would love to hear from you!