Enjoy the outdoors, give back to the community, and help the environment by litter picking!
Here’s some top tips so you can get going safely!
Get the right equipment
When litter picking you can come across some dangerous objects. To avoid injury or harm, it’s always best to pick up rubbish with a litter picker as well as wearing some sturdy gloves in case you do need to pick up an object by hand. Apart from this, here’s a kit list that would be useful when litter picking:
- Litter picker
- Thick gloves
- Bag to put the rubbish in
- Hand sanitiser to keep your hands clean
- High visibility jacket
- Water to keep hydrated
- Appropriate clothing depending on weather eg hat and suncream when sunny, raincoat if rainy/cold
Find a litter picking buddy
Litter picking can be done individually or as apart of a group. However, it’s always safer to go out in at least pairs and let someone know where you are planning to go. Why not gather a group of friends, or recommend the activity to your local youth group? After all, the more people that get involved the better!
Rubbish disposal
Once you have collect your rubbish, you’ll need to dispose of it appropriately. The best way to do this would be to take it home and dispose of it in your personal rubbish bins. If you can, please do your best to recycle the rubbish that you find! You can split up the rubbish by at least separating these items:
- Plastic bottles
- Aluminium cans
- General waste
Finding hazardous material
When you’re out litter picking, there is a possibility that you might stumble across hazardous items such as syringes. If so, do not attempt to clear it up yourself. Contact the Environment Agency immediately on 0800 80 70 60, or inform your local council with what you found and where.
Permission
If you’re heading to litter pick on land that doesn’t belong to you, make sure you get permission from the land owner.
Related Information
Visit Keep Wales Tidy to get involved in a local litter pick.
Check out the Great British Spring Clean by Keep Britain Tidy.
TheSprout has a really comprehensive Environment info page for more info on environmental issues.
