Communities across Caerphilly County Borough are taking part in the council’s annual Big Spring Clean campaign.
Taking place throughout March, April and May, the campaign encourages residents of all ages to grab their litter pickers, wheelbarrows and spades and head outdoors to help give our area a clean-up before the summer.
This year, the campaign was given its official launch in Rhymney with an army of volunteers hitting the streets for a litter pick while council workers painted street furniture, cleaned drains and resurfaced roads.
Cllr Dave Poole, cabinet member for community and leisure services, said: “The support that we received at the launch was insurmountable. This spring clean is not a one day event, every year we have had great success over the course of the campaign and I can see that this year we will have the same success after the amazing job everyone has done at the launch event.”
The volunteer group collected two truck loads of rubbish and litter from the area.
That effort was followed by a clean-up of a five-mile stretch of the A465 Heads of the Valley Road
Pupils from St James Primary School in Caerphilly have also been working hard with a litter pick.
Year 5 pupils patrolled Lansbury Skate Park while Year 6 pupils tackled the paths around the Mornington Meadows side of the school. The children braved the wind and rain and collected a total of 15 bags full of litter.
Bethan Jones, Year 6 teacher at St James Primary School said: “This event has enthused the children and made them realise that they can make a difference to where they live. Hopefully local people will recognise what the children have done and will make every effort to keep the area clean in the future”.
Similarly, a group of nine volunteers joined forces to carry out a litter pick in Abercarn where they collected a total of 33 bags full of litter.
The Cymdeithas Twmbarlwm Society recently organised a litter pick at Twmbarlwm where more than 25 bags of litter were collected.
Three tonnes of fly-tipped waste, which included car wheels, tyres, building material, household waste and scrap metal, was also removed.
The clean-up prompted spontaneous litter picking with members of a Cardiff walking club doing their bit and visitors from Derby joining in.
Terry Evans, chair of Cymdeithas Twmbarlwm Society. said: “I was pleased that the event went so well! It was a really satisfying way to spend a few hours. We succeeded in clearing our beautiful mountain of both recent and much older rubbish, and we got some exercise and fresh air at the same time!”
He added, “We even removed a lot of broken glass which is so dangerous for dogs and the animals that graze the mountain! It was a real spring clean! It’s such a pity that people feel the need to drop their rubbish up there in the first place!”
The next community clean-ups are planned for April 3 at Dol yr Eos, Mornington Meadows and 5th April at Wern Park, Nelson.
For more information about getting involved with the Big Spring Clean campaign visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk/bigspringclean.