Keep Britain Tidy is an organisation we at Cromwell fully support, they instill the same passion for a clean environment as we do, and one of the ways they promote this is via their annual GB Spring Clean. Dubbed ‘Britain’s Largest Litter Pick’, the GB Spring Clean is an annual event in our calendars each year. During the GB Spring Clean, we dedicate time as a company to head out to our local area, typically finding one which is a hot spot of litter and waste crime, and carry out a litter pick. Over the past few years, we have increased our commitment and upped our litter picking game, as we have held multiple litter picks, in a variety of areas. This year 4 waste clean ups are planned in aid of the GB Spring Clean, here’s all you need to know:
Cromwell Head Office Double Litter Pick
On a rainy Wednesday in March, 2 teams from our Sherburn in Elmet site, headed to the local industrial estate, just a quarter of a mile from our head office to carry out our first batch of litter picks. An area of the busy estate was highlighted by management as a hot-spot for waste crime, and upon arrival it was evident this was a zone in desperate need of a clean up. The mini roundabout was found in a poor state, with a variety of different litter types clogging up the greenery, and hiding between the flowers. Our morning team, saw 4 of our staff fill 5 full bags full of wrongfully discarded waste, which included food packaging, aluminium cans, bottles, and even glass vodka bottles – all collected from the litter-filled roundabout and surrounding walkways. Whilst the roundabout was covered head to toe in discarded waste, the walkways had seen improvements since previous years – but now all sit clean and tidy, litter free and ready to flourish in the spring weather – without any rubbish hindering them. In total 5 bags weighing an approximate total of 40kg was collected in a short area.
Hearing about the disgraceful state of the industrial estate, our afternoon team picked up where the morning crew left off, and continued the litter picking journey around a nearby stretch. A popular spot for lorry drivers and other commuters, a lot of the litter found is likely to have been thrown from vehicles, and left kerbside. Thankfully now, due to the efforts of our team, this litter has now been collected and the area is looking much tidier, it is also now safer for wildlife and much healthier for the environment. Another hour of rubbish collection from our team and an additional 4 bags were collected – meaning 9 sacks of waste and litter have been capture in just 1 day!
Sleetmoor FC Litter Pick
As well as our internal company litter-picks we also collaborated with our sponsored football teams and revitalised their pitches with a GB Spring Clean litter pick. On Saturday 23rd of March, staff from both of our sites, joined our 2 Sleetmoor Girls teams at their local football pitch to help tackle the litter surrounding the area. Joining forces after their match, we cleaned up the areas in and around the pitch they train and play on, it is important to us our teams are playing in a clean and safe environment, so choosing this location was a no-brainer for us! It was great to see the youth team get involved and help us with our clean-ups, it was educational for the two teams, who were surprised to see the amount and types of litter that is discarded wrongfully – and found it even more wonderful to see the results afterwards with their new clean and tidy pitch. The team had great fun carrying out the clean-up and hopefully this will encourage others to keep that area clean for the sporting club.
Sherburn White Rose Litter Pick
We are hosting our final spring litter pick with our 2nd sponsored football team Sherburn White Rose. We will be joined by our youngest litter pickers to date, our under 7’s team, alongside their parents joined us after a Friday Training session to get their pitch clean and tidy. A team from Cromwell will be joined head coach Tom, and his team of budding footballers who are swapping their shin-pads for litter pickers and investigating the litter in their area. The football pitch joins onto a children’s play area, as well as busy a clubhouse, so a fair amount of litter is likely to be accumulated over time. We are looking forward to joining the team with their litter pick!
In total our teams collected waste in 4 different locations – after 3 days of litter picking and 4 clean-ups! We got a few thank you’s from the general public during our sessions, and now have 4 litter-free. more beautified areas. Fingers crossed they stay this way!