Litter Costs Close To £100 Million

The costs of cleaning up Britain’s litter epidemic has risen alarmingly in the past year to reach £858 million, despite a campaign by the former Yorkshire Dales resident, writer Bill Bryson, who is President of Keep Britain Tidy.

Full article: Yorkshire Dales News: Litter costs close to £100 million

Campaign For Rural England

Bill Bryson's love of the English countryside is well known and celebrated in his books such as Notes from a Small Island. Bill is the President for The Capaign For Rural England and with the forthcoming election fast approaching they are asking people to vote for the countryside. This is their manifesto.

Campaign For Rural England Manifesto
Our manifesto for the countryside will help us achieve our vision of a better countryside for all. Please ask candidates of all parties to support it through making pledges and taking action. What we would like to see:

• a democratic planning system that protects and enhances the countryside, promotes urban renewal and improves people’s quality of life
• investment in public transport including bus, rail and coach, and safer walking and cycling
• support a national deposit scheme for drink containers, and ban free plastic bags if voluntary schemes do not work

Find out more
You can read more about our manifesto for the countryside in our short leaflet:
Vote for the Countryside in 2010! (1.2MB PDF)

Bill Bryson And Hilary Benn Meet Street Cleaners On South Bank

Environment secretary Hilary Benn and Bill Bryson, president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, met street cleaners on the South Bank on Tuesday morning ahead of a summit to tackle the blight of litter.

Full article: http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/4438

Help Clean Up Our Canals, Say Bill Bryson And British Waterways

A recent news article from the Waterscape website.

Q: What do shopping trolleys, an aeroplane propeller and a fridge of food have in common?
A: They were all pulled out of the UK’s canals last year during Towpath Tidy

The 2,200 miles of canals and rivers managed by British Waterways are part of our national heritage, but they can be blighted by littering, fly tipping and graffiti. Bill Bryson, best-selling author and President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is once again urging the 11 million people who use the nation’s canals and rivers to tackle the problems of rubbish on their local waterway during this year’s Towpath Tidy.

British Waterways’ Towpath Tidy 2010 takes place between Monday 1st March and Sunday 14th March, and is a series of locally coordinated activity days across the UK that offer local communities the chance to roll up their sleeves and really make a difference to their waterside environments. Towpath Tidy aims to make a big difference to small spaces, transforming nominated stretches of canals and rivers by undertaking tasks such as litter picking, painting and graffiti removal, cutting back towpath vegetation and minor maintenance tasks.

The success of the event depends on volunteers, supported by British Waterways’ staff, and everyone is welcome. This volunteer effort will bring wildlife and environmental benefits to the canals and rivers, as well as providing a welcome boost to the year-round work carried out by British Waterways. Towpath Tidy provides a great opportunity for communities to get involved and discover more about the fantastic resource they have on their doorsteps.

CPRE is supporting Towpath Tidy as part of its Stop the Drop campaign which aims to solve the litter and fly tipping problems blighting the UK’s towns and countryside, by involving its local branches and other litter picking groups registered on LitterAction.

Bill Bryson comments: "Britain’s canals and rivers are incomparable spaces for people to enjoy. I urge everybody who wants to get Britain cleaned up to get involved and help tidy a towpath, pick up some litter or scrub off some graffiti."

Waterways should be source of local pride

Robin Evans, British Waterways’ chief executive, adds: "Our waterways are a national asset and should be a source of local pride. The incredible effort local communities and volunteer groups make, especially during our annual Towpath Tidy, gives a real boost to our year-round maintenance programme. We want communities to feel a sense of ownership in their local canals and rivers, and Towpath Tidy provides a great opportunity for people to get involved and find out more." 

1,700 volunteers for Towpath Tidy 2009

Towpath Tidy 2010 is aiming to surpass last year’s event, which saw more than 1,700 volunteers join 635 members of British Waterways’ staff in clearing 149 tonnes of litter, painting bridges, locks, fences and graffiti covered walls, and cutting back vegetation. Events took place in 110 locations across the UK and volunteers helped on 216 miles of towpath.

In addition to CPRE, Towpath Tidy is supported by Keep Britain Tidy’s The Big Tidy Up campaign, the leading inland waterways charity the Inland Waterways Association and a number of canal societies and trusts. For more information, including details of all the Towpath Tidy events, visit www.waterscape.com/towpathtidy or call 0845 671 5530.