KEEP Britain Tidy and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street delivered the West Midlands Great Clean Up, a litter picking campaign to spruce up the region ahead of this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
They worked with Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall councils to get a group of volunteer ‘Litter Heroes’ to clean up parks, streets and waterways.
The weekend was launched on June 24 with a clean up at Wolverhampton’s Hilton Park by Lanesfield Primary School’s Eco-Club and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
Wright Restaurants also took part in a clean-up in Sheldon Park, with 90 volunteers collecting 45 bags of litter.
Local authorities, Keep Britain Tidy and grassroots groups took part in a series of family-friendly litter picks in parks, streets and waterways the following day, with all the equipment being provided.
Other groups taking part in litter picks included The Cotes and Trees Community Group in Coventry, Litter Watch in Sandwell, Love Solihull, Wombles of Darlaston, and Tabernacle Baptist Church.
Litter collected ranged from a hidden knife and drug paraphernalia to broken glass in the road and a large tyre.
Mr Street said: “It was great news to see local heroes from across our region stepping up to take part in The West Midlands Great Clean Up, a wonderful grassroots effort to galvanise action to instill community pride in the place we all call home and get the West Midlands looking its best ahead of the Commonwealth Games this summer.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton added: “The eyes of the world will fall on the Midlands as the much-anticipated Commonwealth Games takes place, and we want to make sure the region is looking its best for competitors, residents and visitors.
“We need the public’s help ahead of this important occasion.
“We want to encourage everybody to take pride in the region by helping to make a difference in neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces.”
