The Great British Spring Clean is underway in Calderdale, as the Council supports the national campaign to tackle litter and improve the local environment.
The Great British Spring Clean 2025, run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, is a mass action campaign that takes place each spring and is now in its tenth year.
Clean up events are taking place across the borough, with residents, community groups and local businesses invited to come along and support Council staff to make a real difference in Calderdale communities.
The first of these events took place on Saturday 23 March in Wellholme Park, Brighouse. Volunteers and staff worked hard clearing rubbish and tidying the area after winter. The Council provided equipment and refreshments to thank volunteers for their efforts.
Further events also took place on Sunday 24 March near Spring Hall, Halifax and in Fountainhead village. Across the weekend almost half a tonne of rubbish was collected.
Anyone is welcome to come along to support upcoming clean up days, as part of the campaign, at the following locations:
- Tuesday 25 March from 10am – Ripponden, meeting at Royd Lane car park
- Wednesday 26 March from 10am- Parkinson Lane, Halifax, meeting at the Primary School
- Saturday 29 March from 10am – The Paddock, off The Grove, Ovenden, HX3 5RG.
- Saturday 29 March from 1pm – Exley Woods, Exley Bank, HX3 9LH.
- Thursday 3 April from 9.30am – Dodgeholme and Mixenden, meet at 45 Dodgeholme Drive, HX2 8PF.
- Saturday 5 April from 9.30am – Sowerby Bridge, meet at The Moorings car park.
- Saturday 5 April from 1pm – Dodgeholme and Mixenden family event, meet at 45 Dodgeholme Drive, HX2 8PF.
The Great British Spring Clean aims to brings together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the local environment. Even if you can’t attend one of the clean-up events, you can still get involved and pledge to pick a bag or more of litter. Find out more about the campaign and make a pledge on Keep Britain Tidy’s website(external link).
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“We’re once again getting involved in the national Great British Spring Clean, with events taking place across the borough. We’re really grateful for the amazing volunteers who support our staff to make a real difference to our local areas.
“We know tackling litter really matters and when spaces look untidy it has a big impact on how we feel about a place. We take action all year round and we’ve recently reviewed our processes to make sure we can continue to keep our towns and villages as tidy as possible, within available resources.”
As part of the Council’s plan for keeping Calderdale’s streets and green spaces clean and tidy, the size, type and location of bins has been reviewed. This means some bins have been moved or replaced with a different type of bin.
To try and tackle one of the biggest causes of litter, overflowing bins, the Council has placed 100 new, 240 litre bins in several high-usage areas, including Savile Park, King Cross/Queen’s Road, and Shibden Park. These bins have double the capacity of the Council’s regular bins, can take larger items, and can be emptied more quickly.
Some bins have also been relocated closer to roads for easier vehicle access, to ensure efficient emptying. Other changes include amended emptying routes to maximise the number of bins that can be emptied in one day. Sensor technology is also being trialled to monitor the level of rubbish in bins and therefore allow for more efficient emptying and use of resources.
Cllr Durrans, added:
“We want to make sure that we have the right type of bin, in the right location, which is reliably emptied. Making the service more efficient means that we will be able to free up resources to support more litter picking, rather than just emptying bins. This is one of the things that people tell us they want to see more of, and it will allow us to better address some of the areas where we know litter accumulates.
“People can help us by using the bins provided or taking their rubbish home. We’d also like people to report litter hotspots to us, so we can focus our attention on these areas and consider additional clean-up days, like those happening as part of the Great British Spring Clean.”
To find out more about our efforts to keep Calderdale clean, visit new.calderdale.gov.uk/communities/clean-streets/litter(external link). If you’d like to organise a clean-up event or request equipment to clean your local area, contact litter.watch@calderdale.gov.uk