Features / Bristol Waste
Celebrating one year of Bristol’s Big Tidy scheme
Celebrating 12 months of the Bristol Waste‘s Big Tidy project, the mayor and volunteers will come together to transform Easton Leisure Centre.
Launched in October 2019, a team of street cleansers, graffiti removal experts, enforcement officers and community engagement officers from Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste have been working to make the city’s streets cleaner.
The latest Big Tidy is focused on Easton Leisure Centre, located on Stapleton Road.
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Naomi Skinner, who has worked with companies from WHSmith to St George’s Bristol, has designed an infographic outlining some of the project’s successes within its first year.
During the first week of November, artist Jenny Simmons, who recently co-created a mural in Bedminster, will work with mayor Marvin Rees, volunteers, leisure centre manager Noel Hickman and the Big Tidy team to bring Naomi’s infographic to life.
The design will deter tagging, as well as making it easier to remove any new tags by adding shapes to the mural.
Easton Community Centre before work began on the new mural
The infographic details some of the highlights from the past 12 months. 13,000 hours of street cleansing and 4,000 hours of community engagement have lead to 7,000 streets being deep cleaned and more than 3,000 graffiti tags being removed.
Through 22 community events and 61 litter picks, 471 tonnes of litter and fly tip has been collected – including three toilets and even a trampoline.
When the pandemic struck, the Big Tidy went digital, connecting with communities online, supporting Bristol’s population during the uncertain time. Between April and June 2020, the graffiti removal crew cleaned a still cleaned more than 1,000 tags from walls and street furniture across the city.
Volunteers pain the new mural, which celebrates one year of the Big Tidy
“I launched the Big Tidy this time last year to address the continuing problems of littering, graffiti and fly-tipping across the city,” says mayor Marvin Rees. “The Big Tidy teams help tackle these issues in areas where we know there is a significant problem.
“Bringing the sparkle back to an area isn’t as simple as cleaning up a street and thinking that the problem is solved. Residents have to feel ownership of their streets and take pride in them, which is why we have engagement officers on the Big Tidy team to encourage positive behaviour changes and enforcement offers to discourage illegal activities such as fly-tipping and tagging.”
The targeted approach of the project means that once the Big Tidy finishes work in an area, the new standard can be maintained by the regular programme of street cleansing work carried out by Bristol Waste.
Marvin Rees joined in painting
“Thanks to this community approach and the support of Bristol residents, businesses and volunteer groups, the Big Tidy has already made a visible difference to our streets,” adds the mayor.
“These are issues that people care deeply about, and we remain determined to clean up the city and challenge the behaviour of people who think it is acceptable to disrespect the city and its residents.”
All photos: Bristol Waste
Read more: Bristol Waste’s first reuse shop opens for business
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