Better Business / Member feature
Mayor launches the ‘Big Tidy’ for Bristol
Mayor Marvin Rees joined Bristol Waste crews in George Jones Park, Old Market, on Friday, October 4 to launch the Big Tidy.
The 12-month project is part of the mayor’s Bristol Clean Streets campaign and will work in priority neighbourhoods across the city to tackle issues such as littering, tagging, fly-tipping, fly-posting and overgrown vegetation.
Work began in Old Market this week with the Big Tidy street cleaning teams, community engagement officers and enforcement all on site to help bring the sparkle back to Bristol.
The dedicated teams will be working in areas across the city to carry out tasks, such as:
- Jet washing pavements and walls
- Removing graffiti
- Cracking down on littering, fly-tipping and tagging
- Cleaning benches, bins and bollards to remove graffiti and stickers
- Replacing bins that are no longer fit for purpose
- Cutting back overgrown paths to improve accessibility
- Litter picking
The project will see an additional £1 million invested in the street cleansing, enforcement and neighbourhood engagement to help keep Bristol clean and green.
Rees said: “The launch of the Big Tidy is another important step in addressing littering, graffiti and fly-tipping across the city. The Big Tidy teams will support our Clean Streets Campaign by bolstering our capacity and support people to revitalise their local communities.
“This new investment in teams and equipment will help tackle areas where we know there is a significant problem. The targeted action carried out by the teams will be supported by our enforcement officers who will gather evidence and look to prosecute repeat offenders.
“These are issues that people care deeply about, and we are determined to clean up the city and challenge the behaviour of people who think it is acceptable to disrespect the city and its residents.”
The project also calls on the residents of Bristol to make a pledge to play their part in looking after the city.
Pledges can be as simple as promising to pick up litter as you go about your journey, taking your own litter home to be recycled, or reporting tagging and fly-tipping to the council – one of the easiest steps we can all take to reduce the amount of litter on our streets.
Tony Lawless, managing director of Bristol Waste said: “We know that many people in Bristol consider litter to be a major concern in their area, and unfortunately people are far more likely to do it if litter is already present. The good news is that by working together, each doing our bit to keep our streets clean, and sorting or reporting it when it is not, we can help stop litter altogether. That is why we are calling on all Bristolians to take the Big Tidy Pledge.
“We believe that every neighbourhood should be a pleasure and source of pride for the people who live and work there. We will do our bit, but it is only by working together with residents and businesses that we can really make a lasting difference.”
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