Two members of SI Medway and Maidstone, Jane and Stella Barnes joined volunteers taking part in a litter pick along the Rochester Esplanade foreshore of the River Medway. This was organised as part of the Great British Spring Clean by the Friends of Rochester Churchfields Esplanade group on Saturday 25 March.
Now into its eighth year, the Great British Spring Clean is Keep Britain Tidy’s annual national clean-up campaign. The Great British Spring Clean is held from 17 March – 2 April 2023. During the campaign, members of the great British public join forces with a range of partners to get rubbish off the ground, safely collected and recycled. In 2022, people pledged to pick up one bag, or more, because one bag makes a big difference. Last year, nearly half a million bags – 449,406 were pledged.
We were fortunate that the morning was dry although rather windy. The 18 volunteers taking part were issued with black sacks and pickers and given guidance to ensure our safety. Along the foreshore we found old shoes, ruck sack, wooden planks, melamine boards, back seat of a car, pipes to name a few of the items.
As we progressed further there had been high tides that had left flotsam and jetsam right across the Esplanade walkways. All the plastic debris was collected leaving the remaining debris to be collected by the local council contractors.
It was a successful morning as we filled a total of 30 black sacks. These sacks were left with the larger discarded items found at a collection point on the edge of the Esplanade. This was ready for Medway Council to pick up later.
@keepbritaintidy #GBSpringClean #MillionMileMission