Great British Spring Clean
What is the Great British Spring Clean?
The Great British Spring Clean 2026, run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, is a mass action litter-picking campaign that took place between the 13th and 29th of March.
It brought together individuals, community organisations, businesses and councils to make a difference to the environment on our doorstep, and therefore we believed it was valuable for our staff, councillors and residents to get involved.
In 2025 more than 485 local authorities and town and parish councils took part across the country, and volunteers picked more than 462,000 bags!
The charity reports that last year:
- 95% of participants agreed that they felt they had made a difference to their local area.
- 88% of people who took part in the Great British Spring Clean agreed they feel part of a national movement that is taking action to tackle litter
As well as polluting our streets, parks and beaches, litter harms wildlife, domestic pets and cattle, and costs the local authorities staggering amounts to clean up. Dover District Council is pleased and proud to had supported the campaign again this year.
Our 2026 Campaign
We are hosted 10 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 as they liked. Just one bag makes a big difference!
The dates and locations of the 2026 litter picking events are shown below:
We pledged that 250 bags of litter would be collected throughout the campaign period and we are pleased to report that we collected over 300 bags of litter with over 800 people 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
Dover District Council teamed up with our recycling, refuse and street cleansing contractor Veolia to again host a design competition for residents aged under 18, to design a poster to encourage people to do the right thing and put litter in the bin.
A huge well done goes out to all our competition entrants who did such an amazing job in our poster design competition as part of the Great British Spring Clean - and special congratulations to our winning artist Samuel whose winning design has made it onto the side of one of refuse and recycling vehicles!
Samuel (pictured centre) was joined by runners up Oscar and George to pick up prizes at a special presentation which took place in June 2026 at the DDC offices in Whitfield, where they met representatives from DDC and our contractors Veolia, and saw the winning design in action one of the vehicles.
The competition was held to encourage everyone to ‘put your litter in the bin’, with a £50 voucher for the winner, and £25 vouchers for the two runners up.
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:
For further infromation please visit our REACH awards webpage on the following link REACH Awards
Please note nominations for the 2026 awards are now closed.
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 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