More than 100 Torbay residents – and some superheroes - took part in either a litter pick or beach clean recently.

As part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean – supported locally by us, SWISCo, Tor Bay Harbours and Groundwork South – 135 volunteers took part in 13 events and collected 35 black sacks, 1 dumpy bag and a plastic dinghy full of litter and recycling. At the Ellacombe Park litter pick, some superheroes even came along to join in with the event – appropriate given the #LitterHeroes campaign hashtag.

The annual event ran from 28 May to 13 June and participants were able to borrow litter picking kits from SWISCo, who also collected bags of rubbish at the end of events. SWISCo provides a range of frontline services on our behalf, including highways, grounds maintenance, and waste and recycling. Other groups also took part and are encouraged to send in information about how many volunteers took part and how much rubbish and recycling was collected.

Voluntary groups taking part included Brixham Bay Walks, Torbay Cleaner Coasts Initiative, Friends of Clennon Valley, and Torbay Beach Action Group, as well as family and friend groups, and local ward councillors everywhere across the Bay from Torquay to Brixham.

Leader of Torbay Council, Steve Darling, said: “Thank you so much to all the residents and local community groups who took part in the Great British Spring Clean in Torbay, including the residents who have participated in events in the Willows, Babbacombe Downs and Hele Village within my own ward area. We are very grateful for you giving up your time and hard work and even though the big annual event is now over, we are able to provide support via SWISCo to anyone who wants to organise their own litter pick or beach clean, so please do get in touch if you are interested.”

Deputy Leader Darren Cowell said: “It’s great to see so many people getting involved in litter picks and beach cleans. As a Council we are committed to improving our local area and open spaces, and over the summer we’ve recruited a team of Safe, Clean and Green Ambassadors to support local street cleansing services, but we all care about the Bay and can all play our part to protect our parks, beaches and open spaces.

At a litter pick in Ellacombe Park organised by Ellacombe Community Partnership, superheroes came along to lend a helping hand. Sarah O’Connor, Coordinator for Ellacombe Community Partnership, said: “Our litter pick was a great success, we had 14 children and their families taking part and in total collected 6 black bags of rubbish. The superheroes were a huge hit! Thanks to all those who took part in the event – you are all our litter heroes.”

View a video of Ellacombe’s litter pick on the Ellacombe Community Partnership Facebook page.

How to get involved

If you are interested in organising your own local litter pick or beach clean and want to borrow equipment and arrange a collection of bags at the end, contact engagement@torbay.gov.uk.