Community litter picking

Coronavirus: All support for volunteer and community litter picking activity has been suspended until further notice due to Covid-19.

We can help people who want to volunteer to spend a few hours litter picking together. This could be a beach clean or a tidy-up of your local neighbourhood, park or school.

We offer practical support to schools, clubs and community groups based in New Forest.

Litter pick organisers and volunteers are not working for or acting on behalf of the council. They are not covered by the council's Liability Insurance.

Plan your community litter pick

As the litter pick organiser, it is your responsibility to do all of the following.

• Check who owns the land where you plan to litter pick, and ask their permission.
• Visit the site or area and carry out a risk assessment.
• Read our health and safety guidance to ensure your litter picking activity falls within our guidelines.

Health and safety guidance

Your safety and that of your volunteers comes first. The council can only provide support for community litter picking activity that complies with our health and safety guidance.

It is the litter pick organiser's responsibility to brief all volunteers on the guidance, and ensure it is followed by everyone taking part throughout the duration of the litter pick.

You can download the health and safety guidance document below.

Community Litter Picking Health and Safety Guidance [34.56KB]

Our support for litter picking

We can help your litter pick by providing the following support.

• Lending litter grabbers and high visibility (hi-vis) vests for volunteers.
• Providing black rubbish sacks for the litter.
• Providing red 'hazard' cards in case you find flytipping, hazardous material or hypodermic needles.
• Providing a health and safety guidance sheet for all volunteers.
• Collecting the rubbish sacks after your litter pick from an agreed location.

We can only provide support for planned litter picks. We are unable to lend any equipment on a long-term basis, or provide any support to individuals or groups who litter pick on an ad-hoc basis.

Request support for a litter pick

To request support for a community litter pick, send an email to wasteandrecycling@nfdc.gov.uk and provide the following information.

• Your name and contact details.
• Intended date, start and finish time of the litter pick.
• Location/area of litter picking activity.
• Number of volunteers involved (let us know if any children under 16 are taking part).
• An address for us to drop off and pick up the equipment.
• Details of a collection point for us to pick up the rubbish sacks after the litter pick. This must be accessible to a refuse vehicle.

You must give us a minimum of four weeks' notice of your intended litter pick. Our resources are limited, so we cannot guarantee that we can support you without enough notice.

We'll be in touch within ten working days to confirm whether we can provide support for your litter pick. We will advise you when you can expect to receive the litter picking equipment.

Submitting a request does not automatically confirm we can support you. Any support is given entirely at our discretion.

For more information or if you have any queries, contact us by email to wasteandrecycling@nfdc.gov.uk.