This week, Chiltern District Council recommends having a good spring clean in time for the summer months: 

Now that the days are getting lighter and longer, many of us naturally find ourselves undertaking a bit of spring cleaning.

Having a good tidy up doesn’t have to be limited to your home; at Chiltern District Council, we are encouraging staff and residents to think about the local environment too.

We’re supporting Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean, by lending litter pickers and rubbish sacks to residents who would like to do a litter pick in the community.

A Keep Britain Tidy survey found that 97 per cent of Brits feel the cleanliness of their community has a significant impact on their emotional wellbeing, and that living in an area free from dirt, grime and litter significantly improves mood and leads to increased pride in the community.

So it’s really worthwhile to spend even just a few minutes picking up litter in your neighbourhood.

Council staff kick-started the Spring Clean in the Chiltern District with a litter pick in Amersham during their lunch break.

They discovered that the things people litter are truly astonishing –everything from flat caps to flip-flops.

The main roads have also been given a spring clean; our waste contractors SERCO recently completed a roadside litter pick of the A413 near Missenden, collecting five tonnes of rubbish from the six mile stretch over two days.

The majority of the rubbish had been deliberately thrown out of people’s vehicles; things like takeaway wrappers, crisp packets and even empty bottles of wine.

The teams will have to return within eight weeks as the rubbish is expected to build up again.

This is hugely costly to the council tax payer; we spend £200,000 a year in the Chiltern District alone on these roadside litter picks.

What’s even more distressing is the danger to wildlife. Litter puts wildlife at risk of injury, poisoning and death.

Throwing your used coffee cup out of your car is really not worth it.

If you would like to take part and want to borrow equipment for a litter pick, please visit www.chiltern.gov.uk/SpringClean.