Discarded cans and sweet wrappers topped the litter chart in a two-hour spring clean blitz by 20 volunteers from Harrogate Water.
Fifty bags of litter were recovered for disposal and recycling in the Harlow Hill and Pannal Ash areas of town as part of the Great British Spring Clean campaign organised by Keep Britain Tidy and sponsored by Harrogate Water.
Cans accounted for 18 per cent of nearly 1,700 individual items of litter collected, with sweet wrappers a close second on 16 per cent.
Plastic bottles (non-water) accounted for nine per cent and glass bottles eight per cent. Fast food containers represented five per cent, while plastic water bottles and coffee cups each accounted for three per cent.
The litter blitz was carried out in conjunction with Harrogate Borough Council, which provided litter pickers and organised the collection of rubbish for disposal and recycling.
Sponsorship of the campaign by Harrogate Water is part of a recycling initiative with Keep Britain Tidy, including consumer research to inform a targeted recycling campaign. In addition, bottles of Harrogate Spring and Thirsty Planet water are displaying the Tidyman logo, the world’s most famous environmental symbol.
Nicky Cain of Harrogate Water said: About half the litter we collected was recyclable and this demonstrates the importance of our campaign with Keep Britain Tidy to get the recycling message across.
Spring clean events are being held in and around Harrogate, across North Yorkshire and the
length and breadth of Britain. It is a huge community effort which we are proud to be part of both nationally with Keep Britain Tidy and locally with Harrogate Borough Council.”
