Stop The Drop Campaign
CPRE’s Stop the Drop campaign tackles the litter and fly-tipping problem that is despoiling our beautiful countryside. It’s headed by CPRE president and author Bill Bryson, a passionate anti-litter campaigner and champion of the countryside.
At a local level, supporters of the campaign can get involved by organising their own litter pick or joining a local litter volunteer group through litteraction.org.uk. Supporters can pledge to Stop the Drop, joining CPRE in lobbying local authorities, government and other bodies legally responsible for keeping land litter-free. Through these various campaigning actions CPRE aim to demonstrate to Government and other authorities the strength of support behind Stop the Drop.
Read more about the campaign here, including notes from CPRE President Bill Bryson
Find your nearest group
The aim of litteraction.org.uk is to get as many people as possible involved in keeping their communities clear of litter.
There are three ways you can get involved:
1. Pick up litter on your own
Many people collect litter in their neighbourhood on their own. There is no need to join or form a group if you don’t want to or if the litter problem in your neighbourhood isn’t bad enough to justify forming one.
However, we would still encourage you to register at litteraction.org.uk so that other people in your community who might be interested in helping you know what you are doing.
2. Join a group
Find out if there’s a group near you already in existence. Just type in your home postcode in the box on the home page and see the groups nearest to you. Or click here to see a list of all the groups in the UK. You will be guided through the registration process via the link.
3. Start a new group
If your search doesn’t show that there is already a group near you, why not start a new one? This isn’t the daunting process that it may sound. We’ve got all the resources and tips here to help you. Start by clicking here we’ll guide you through the process.
Login to your account | Start a group
If you’d like to set up a new group, we suggest you go through 10 easy steps:
1. Think what local area your new group should cover. Then come up with a name for the group. If you’re not sure what to call it, have a look though the directory of volunteer groups and see if inspiration strikes you!
2. Register your group here on litteraction.org.uk so other members can join easily.
3. Write a press release about you and your plans for the group. See our section on writing press releases if you need help with this.
4. Include in the press release the address of your web page on litteraction.org.uk and ask people to go there to register.
5. Phone your local paper and find out which reporter covers your local area. Speak to them if you can, otherwise email them your press release (with a photo if possible).
6. Contact your local council. If you’re not sure who it is, look at who sends you your council tax bill. Find out who the liaison person is for volunteer litter groups. Tell this person what you are doing and ask what help they can give you. Ideas include: loan of litter-pickers, high visibility vests or gloves, refuse sacks, help with insuring your group and perhaps even some funding.
7. Think about drawing up a short constitution for your group. This is good practice anyway as it ensures that everyone is clear about what the group is for and how it should work. Also a constitution is often required if you are going to apply for funding for equipment and running costs.
8. When you have recruited one or two members (it doesn’t need to be many), have a meeting and agree how the group will be run and where you are going to do your first litter pick. You could, at this stage, send another press release to your local paper saying when and where the litter pick will be and asking people to come and join you. Don’t forget to update your page on litteraction.org.uk to show when and where the litter pick will take place.
9. Make sure that, when you are out on the litter pick, it is clear to passers-by what your group is. You can hand out leaflets telling people about your group and wear high-visibility vests with your group’s name on them. This way, you will get people to take notice of what you are doing and more will join your group. Also, take photos of your litter pick.
10. After the pick, send a report (with photos) to your local paper again ensuring you include your litteraction.org.uk webpage address. Post photos and, if you wish, a short account of the litter pick on your litteraction.org.uk webpage. Then, repeat steps eight to 10!
Start a group now
Other actions for new groups
- If you would like to help to campaign against litter, see CPRE’s Stop the Drop Campaign
- Contribute to one of the litteraction.org.uk forums If you have some advice, a tip or an opinion that you think may be of interest to other volunteer groups, please share it.
- Write to your local council and tell them if you think they’re doing a particularly good job or if they could do better. Visit the information centre to find out more.