Five volunteers from Fresh Start took part in a clear-up of Manchester City Centre – supporting the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s ‘Great British Spring Clean.’
They worked together as a team to litter-pick a stretch of the Rochdale Canal towpath around the Oxford Street area.
Working on their hands and knees, they rid the walkway of cigarette butts and discarded rubbish – giving the popular thoroughfare a much-needed tidy-up.
Our Customer Service Advisor Kay Donelon was part of the cleaning crew. She said: “I caught the ‘involvement bug’ after Fresh Start took part in last year’s Manchester Pride Parade; I really like giving back to the community.
‘We were given soft sweeping brushes on the day, but we soon got down to ground level and started using our scrapers to tackle all the chewing gum! Other people cleaned lampposts and Colin Harvey, our Commercial Director, helped free up telephone boxes from posters. It was a great feeling to see what we’d accomplished.
‘My mum taught me to always keep rubbish in my pocket until I got home, but the ‘Spring Clean’ definitely made me more aware of just how much littering still goes on.”
Kay and Colin were joined by Key Account Manager Keith Abbott, Senior Commercial Development Manager Sean Martins and Trainee Management Accountant Bhav Patel.
They were among more than 40 volunteers from numerous businesses who came out in support of the event, which was co-ordinated by CityCo: The City Centre Management Company.
Other Manchester Business Improvement District (BID) members to take part included Bruntwood, Manchester Science Park, Whitworth Locke Hotel, McDonalds and Costa Coffee.
Our Chief Executive Officer Nicola McGrath added: “Manchester City Council is encouraging people to take pride in their city. It is our privilege to help Manchester businesses to contain and dispose their waste effectively, which reduces the risk of it spilling out onto the streets.
‘We have now joined our fellow BID members and CityCo in a show of strength to say that litter pollution is not acceptable, and I am thankful to all our volunteers who took part in the launch of the ‘Great British Spring Clean’, which runs until 23 April.”
Keep Britain Tidy’s aim is to call on #LittleHeroes across the country to improve the environment on their doorstep. So far, more than 50,000 volunteers have joined in nationally – collecting and safely disposing litter which is then recycled wherever possible.
If you would like to host or join a local clean-up, visit the ‘Get Involved’ section on Keep Britain Tidy’s website.
Find out more about waste services at Fresh Start including collection, waste management and recycling services. You can also call us on 0808 178 1066 or email info@fswaste.co.uk.
