Backshall backs Great British Spring Clean
Keep Britain Tidy has teamed up with TV presenter and conservationist Steve Backshall to raise awareness of The Great British Spring Clean, which takes place from 3-5 March.
The Great British Spring Clean is a campaign with one simple ambition: to unite people from across the country to clear up the huge volume of litter that blights our towns, villages, countryside and coastline.
The idea was hatched in 2015 and the inaugural Spring Clean took place in March 2016, with 250,000 people taking part nationwide. Throughout March 2017, Keep Britain Tidy is hoping to inspire half a million Brits to get outdoors and help clear up rubbish.
The impacts of litter on British wildlife are wide-ranging and well documented, ranging from entanglement by or ingestion of balloons and plastic bags, injury (and often death) caused by glass or fishing tackle or entrapment by containers/cans.
Figures provided by the RSPCA reveal that they receive 5,000 reports a year of animals being injured by litter. The most populous reports of injured wildlife involve the following:
- Mute Swan — 1,901
- Gulls — 1,003
- Pigeons/doves — 512
- Canada Goose — 308
- Red Fox — 286
Ahead of the campaign Steve Backshall commented: “Litter dropped in a British street is a horror show for wildlife, so many animals are injured and even die from the things we throw away. This is such an important issue and I’m proud to be supporting Keep Britain Tidy and their campaign — the Great British Spring Clean.”
To join the #LitterHeroes across the UK and register for the #GBSpringClean visit www.greatbritishspringclean.org.uk or tweet @KeepBritainTidy
