Great British Spring Clean
What is the Great British Spring Clean?
Back for its tenth year, the Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.
The campaign, by Keep BritainTidy encourages the public to make a real difference in their communities by either hosting or participating in a litter pick.
Our 2025 Campaign
We are hosted 12 pop-up litter picking events across the district. Litter picking equipment was made available at these events for anyone who wished to participate in picking as much or as little litter they liked. Just one bag makes a big difference!
The dates and locations of the litter picking events held are show below:
We wish to thank all of those who attended our events, or hosted their own litter pick.
This year we pledged that 250 bags of litter would be collected throughout the campaign period.
At the end of the campaign just under 400 bags of litter were collected with just under 650 olunteers taking part!
Why Take Part in Litter Picking?
Aside from improving your local environment, litter picking is a great way to enjoy some physical activity outdoors. It is an opportunity to gain some exercise and contribute something invaluable at the same time. There is also the social benefit of getting together with local residents to clean up your area. Local litter picks can really bring a community together.
This is about more than simply getting people to pick up litter. We want to encourage long-term behaviour change around the issues of litter and waste.
Poster competition
This year's poster competition for the Great British Spring Clean was once again very popular with lots of fabulous entries! A big thank you to everyone who took part - we loved seeing your artwork.
Ebony, aged 11 from Sandwich, is our overall winner of a £50 gift card with her bright and clear poster encouraging people to 'pick it up don't muck it up.'
Two runner-up prizes of £25 gift cards are going to Leo, aged 8 from Sholden with his lovely superhero design, and to Samson, aged 9 from Sandwich, with his clever caption 'put it in the bin let the planet win'. Thank you to our competition sponsors, DDC’s waste contract partner, Veolia UK.
Our REACH Awards
Our REACH Awards (Recognising Environmental and Community Heroes) recognise our district’s unsung heroes who work hard to improve the appearance of the Dover District, help to maintain our environment and unite the local community. Split into four different categories, the scheme acknowledges those individuals and groups who work tirelessly to make a difference, as well as local organisations who are putting the environment at the top of their agenda.
The awards are free to enter, and candidates can nominate themselves or others in the following categories:
- Litter Picker of the Year
- Junior Litter Picker of the Year
- Green Organisation of the Year
- Community Project of the Year
The winners of each category receive a certificate, an award trophy and official recognition at an annual awards ceremony. Details of the winners can be found on the links below:
How do I host a litter pick?
Dover District Council can provide litter picking equipment for events and also arrange for the collected waste to be disposed of.
To organise a litter pick, and to review all the current safety advice, please visit CommunityCleanUps.
You may find Keep Britain Tidy's beginners guide to litter picking of benefit when considering organising your own event.
Our previous campaigns
Dover District Council has supported the Great British Spring Clean Campaign for several years now. To find out more about our previous campaigns, please see the links below:
Litter and Fly Tipping
If litter and fly tipping is an issue in your area, we would encourage you to report this to us. We can arrange for the area to be cleansed by our street cleansing team in publicly maintained areas, and arrange for our Environmental Enforcement Officers to conduct patrols to help tackle the issues.
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To report litter in your area, please visit Litter
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To report fly tipping, please visit FlyTipping