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WEST LANCASHIRE MP ROSIE COOPER SUPPORTS LOCAL COMMUNITY AS PART OF COUNTRY’S BIGGEST MASS-ACTION ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGN

Immediate release: Tuesday 8 September

West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has pledged her support for this year’s Great British September Clean, run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The campaign, postponed in early spring due to Covid-19, will run from 11-27 September and will encourage the great British public to take part in small, socially distanced clean-ups to remove litter from streets, parks and beaches across the country.

Run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, it brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to show they love where they live and in 2019 more than half a million #LitterHeroescollected more than 900,000 bags of rubbish.

Rosie Cooper said: “We must all play our part and stop littering as well as increasing the understanding of the consequences of just ‘throwing’ our litter away and without thought for our areas and the impact on our environment.

“While it is dreadful that still there is so much litter on our streets, it is fantastic that so many people get out and take pride in their own area and want to clean it up.

“I would encourage as many residents as possible to get involved with local organisations who run their litter picks.

“If everyone also picked up just one piece of litter each day and disposed of in the nearest bin we could make a big impact on the local environment.

“Litter and recycling education in schools is expanding all the time so I look forward to seeing cleaner streets, parks and pathways here in West Lancashire.”

Keep Britain Tidy Deputy Chief Executive Richard McIlwain added: “The overwhelming response to last year’s Great British Spring Clean showed that hundreds of thousands of people who love where they live and are prepared to take action to make it better for themselves, their families and their communities.

“Never before has it been more important for our community to unite in our fight against litter. We know that taking part in community action has positive effects on our mental health, and right now, anything we can do to unite British citizens and empower communities to make a difference during these uncertain times is so important.

“We are delighted that Rosie Cooper is supporting this year’s campaign and would like to thank her for taking action to clean up their local environment and beyond.”

To find out how you can get involved, whether that’s by pledging to pick up litter in the course of your daily routine or organising a clean-up with up to five friends or family, visitkeepbritaintidy.org/GBSeptemberClean

*The Great British September Clean is the rescheduled Great British Spring Clean, and will take place 11- 27 September. People can take part by:

• Organising a private clean-up with up to five other family and friends.

• Pledging to do your own individual clean-up, you can give as little as 15 minutes to the campaign.

The Great British Spring Clean is the country’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign and was first run in 2017. In 2019, 563,163 volunteers took part, including more than 175,000 school children. In total, volunteers collected more than 4,300 tonnes of litter – enough to fill more 239,000 wheelie bins.

In total 17,097 events were held over the campaign period (13 March – 25 April) and 272 local authorities took part.

The campaign, in partnership with the Daily Mail, is made possible thanks to headline partners Co-op, Mars Wrigley, Red Bull and Wilko and is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The campaign is also supported by Clear Channel, Coca-Cola, Pepsi MAX and Walkers.