Volunteers spring into action for the Great British Spring Clean

More than 1,100 volunteers took part in the 2025 Great British Spring Clean in Dacorum, helping to clear more than 500 bags of litter throughout March and April, supported by Dacorum Borough Council.

Running for 10 years, the Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action campaign, encouraging people to "love where they live" by litter picking in their local community. This year, the event saw 1,150 volunteers getting involved in Dacorum, with around a third of the litter collected separated as recycling. A large number of fly-tipping incidents were reported by the volunteers, which were then investigated and cleared by our Environmental Enforcement Officers and Clean, Safe and Green (CSG) team.

The litter heroes were made up of individual residents and families, as well as community groups, schools and faith groups. These included Northchurch Baptist Church, Britvic, Eco Berko, Oddy Explorer Scout Unit in Tring, Dacorum Street Champions, 1st Apsley Squirrel Scouts, Heath Lane Nursery School and Council staff from a range of departments.

Our CSG team carry out litter picks daily across the borough, but the size of Dacorum means any time volunteers are able to offer towards a clean-up is always greatly appreciated.

Keep Britain Tidy, the charity that leads on the campaign nationally, announced the winners of the Great British Spring Clean awards during the campaign, which recognise volunteers, businesses, faith groups and local authorities that have gone above and beyond to support the campaign. Georgie May Tearle, a Dacorum resident, was the proud recipient of the Golden Litter Picker Award for her litter-picking ‘Chest Chats’, where she combines litter picking with raising awareness of breast cancer.

Councillor Robin Bromham, our Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Operations, said: “We should all look at our own streets, when arriving at work or back at home, for any litter to pop in our bins, or pick up the odd thing when out for a stroll. However, especially in the spring, we discover accumulations of litter, exposed by the winter dieback which can only be tackled by a special effort. Our volunteers have again done us proud in tackling this during the Great British Spring Clean before the green growth hides it again.”

The Great British Spring Clean may be the most popular time for litter-picking but we support litter picks all year round by lending litter-picking equipment for community-organised events. The Dacorum Street Champions are always welcoming new volunteers, too. This is a fantastic group of volunteers who are committed to litter picking in their local area on a regular basis, as well as reporting fly tips and other environmental issues. The team makes a huge difference to the local environment and help make Dacorum a beautiful place to live.

Learn more by visiting our Community Litter Picking page.