Harrogate Spring Water launches Keep Yorkshire Tidy litter picking campaign

Harrogate Spring Water is inviting families and firms to help Keep Yorkshire Tidy this spring – for the environment and for their wellbeing.

The company is leading the charge to clear the region’s streets, paths and public spaces of litter through their ‘Lunchtime Litter Pick’ campaign. Local businesses can get free litter picking kits to encourage staff to take a break in the fresh air while doing something positive within the community.

Harrogate Spring Water will be enlisting the help of actress Natalie Anderson, Harrogate Town FC and its own workforce. The company is also encouraging people to join Harrogate Borough Council’s series of organised anti-litter drives. To find out more, head to bit.ly/3I6jbBf.

The campaign, in support of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean 2022, comes in the wake of research commissioned by Harrogate Spring Water and carried out by The Beano, which revealed that children and young people see littering as the individual act which most harms the environment.

The survey of more than 1,000 children aged between 9 and 16 found that 92% of youngsters rated the environment as important to them (well ahead of the 47% who rated their social media profiles as important) with only friends (93%) and family (96%) rating higher.

Over three quarters of children (76%) admitted that they were worried about the environment, with littering seen as the worst environmental offence and children saying that adults should lead by example in teaching them how to protect the planet.

Harrogate Spring Water hopes that by joining in the litter picking drive, families can take positive action on the environment and the next generation can learn more about how they can play their part in keeping waste out of nature and in the recycling stream.

James Cain OBE, managing director at Harrogate Spring Water, said: “Our latest research in partnership with the Beano shines a light on how the younger generation continue to be at the forefront of championing environmental causes.

“We all have a role to play in protecting the environment, that’s why we think it’s so important that as many people as possible take part in the Great British Spring Clean – even a half-hour lunchtime litter pick can make a massive difference to your neighbourhood and demonstrate that by working together, we can make a positive impact.”

Amongst those backing Harrogate Spring Water’s campaign is actress and podcaster of ‘The Capsule’, Natalie Anderson.

Yorkshire-born Natalie, soon to appear alongside Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce in Casino Royale director Martin Campbell’s new movie Memory, said: “We all know what a fabulous place Yorkshire is, but even the most beautiful places can be spoiled by thoughtless littering.

“Taking action by joining in a mass litter pick or doing a litter pick just with your family can not only make a big difference to how your neighbourhood looks, it can also make you feel good for having achieved something really positive.

“I know my son Fred shares a lot of the concerns expressed by other children in The Beano survey about the environment, so this is a great way to show to our kids how committed we are to their futures and to show how they can play a part themselves.”

This latest campaign by Harrogate Spring Water follows their previous recycling initiative – the ‘Incredible Shrinking Bottle’ which highlights their distinctive ‘diamond lattice’ design, enabling their 100% recyclable plastic bottles to be twisted and compressed into a tiny package, allowing them to be easily transported and recycled. The campaign encouraged consumers to Twist It, Cap It, Recycle It.

More information on Great British Spring Clean events across the country is available at keepbritaintidy.org.