The District Council’s programme of activities for The Great British Spring Clean kicks off this week

From Friday 17 March until Sunday 2 April 2023, Newark and Sherwood District Council will be taking part in the campaign and is encouraging residents to get involved and do their bit to rid the district of the litter that blights our communities.

Many residents and community groups have already pledged to take part in litter picking across the district and there is still plenty of time to organise your own spring-cleaning event if you would like to get involved!

The District Council works with the volunteers to provide them, and accompany them where possible, with the equipment needed for the litter picking and afterwards come to collect any bags of waste collected and dispose of them.

In 2022 nearly half a million bags of litter were pledged to be collected during the campaign. This included the 232 bags that were collected by the 248 residents from Newark and Sherwood that took part.

And this year the District Council is taking its Great British Spring Clean a step further and bringing a significant number of other green activities and events to the district in its bid to make Newark and Sherwood cleaner, safer and greener! Running in parallel to the community litter pick projects, the District Council is hosting:

• A Day of Action in Balderton – following nine successful Days of Action organised by the District Council in Newark and Sherwood, nearly 80 tonnes of waste have been cleared on those on days through litter picking with schools and community volunteers.
• A public consultation for play park developments – residents will be able to discuss exciting plans for a new Castle-themed playground and Fitness Zone at the Green Flag award-winning Sconce and Devon Park and have their views on this heard. The event will take place on Wednesday 22 March. Further details will be provided nearer the time on the District Council’s social channels.
• An event for the planting of major oak saplings – the District Council is committed to planting more trees having planted over 18,000 trees in Newark and Sherwood over the past few years. Over 70 Parish and Town Councils in the district have been given a free tree sapling to plant as part of the Great British Spring Clean.
• Community Garden on land next to the Library – a fantastic new community garden has been developed on the land adjacent to Newark Library, and the space will be open to the public after an official opening on 25 March. In time and subject to official approval, the District Council is hoping to re-name the garden after the late Monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

The national Great British Spring Clean campaign, now in its eighth year, has always been well received in the district and encourages the public to join forces with a range of partners, from local councils and community groups to larger businesses, to tackle littering in their area.

The District Council offers support all year round to any person, parish council, school or local community group that would like to organise a voluntary litter pick in their area. Support provided includes promoting the pick locally to encourage involvement, providing equipment including black bags and high vis vests for the group, and any waste will be collected by the District Council's waste team. 

For more information on community litter picks visit our website: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/communitylitterpicking/