Wombles coming to Exeter for Great British Spring Clean

Published: 12 March 2020

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Famous litter pickers and environmentalists The Wombles will be visiting Exeter to take part in The Great British Spring Clean.

Anyone can join in the event which is happening on Wednesday (18 March) in the streets surrounding St James Park, the home of Exeter City Football Club.

The Wombles – who became famous in the 1970s with their own TV series - will be joining Exeter City Council and a number of big organisations for the litter pick and tidy up. The event sets off from the football ground at 10am and finishes as 2pm, although people can come and leave as they choose.

The Great British Spring Clean is a nationwide initiative set up by Keep Britain Tidy. The City Council is co-hosting the Exeter event along with CITY Community Trust. Thousands of similar events will take place across the country between 20 March and 13 April.

A number of groups and organisations will be helping out on the day, including Exeter City Football Club, the University of Exeter, Exeter Mosque, St Sidwell’s School, St Sidwell’s Community Centre, and St James Forum. Members of the public can also take part.

Last year the Great British Spring Clean saw 563,163 people – including 175,055 students volunteering their time to take part in the campaign. Cleaning up streets, parks and beaches, litter heroes across the country have been making big improvements to the environment on their doorstep.

A total of 17,097 clean-ups were held and 957,377 bags of litter collected. That’s the equivalent of 239,344 wheelie bins full of rubbish or 4,308 tonnes worth. Around 61% of the litter collected was general waste and 39% was able to be recycled.

This year’s campaign has the potential to be just as big if not even bigger still!

Cllr David Harvey, Lead Councillor for Environment and City Management, said: “This is a fantastic event and it’s lovely to see so many Exeter groups and organisations offering up their time and coming together to tidy up their neighbourhood.”

Any groups, organisations wishing to take part in the Exeter events can contact matt.hulland@exeter.gov.uk or just turn up on the day.

The City Council also supports community group that want to carry out litter picks throughout the year. It can supply equipment including litter pickers, gloves and hi-vis jackets. Interested groups can contact the Council on 01392 262633 to arrange use of the equipment.