Why it was needed

Not only did this one-off event help to tidy up Loughborough Town, it got a large number of students out on the streets visibly ‘doing good’, as well as attracting 71 participants, 50 being new to volunteering.

What's being done

Each Hall of Residence was encouraged to put forward a team of up to six volunteers, who would be willing to spend an afternoon picking litter in and around the Town.

Thirteen teams took part, as well as the volunteers who helped with the organisation and drove the minibuses.

How it started

Loughborough Students Union worked in partnership with Charnwood Borough Council to bring this project to fruition. We provided the labour, they provided the resource to remove and dispose of the bags of litter.

A thorough briefing was given to the volunteers prior to the start of the event, including H&S and emergency contact procedures. Each team was assigned a specific area of town that the Council had highlighted as problematic. The teams were dropped at set points in their collection areas with litter picks, gloves and refuse sacks, as well as a map of their designated picking area.

Once they had collected all visible litter, each team took a photograph of the number of bags they had filled, called the Council to arrange for the litter to be collected, and then called the Students Union to request a lift back.

The volunteers were required to sign-in when they got back, as well as return their litter picks. As a reward, they were given discounted vouchers for an evening’s entertainment in the Students Union, and the winning team who had collect the most bags of litter received day passes to Alton Towers.

More

This project was an unqualified success.

Charnwood Borough Council was delighted – the lorries they sent out to collect the rubbish were filled so quickly, a final pick-up had to be made the following day.

Local residents also appreciated the work, coming forward to thank the volunteers personally.

Of the 71 students that took part in the event, over 50 were new to volunteering. Not only was there an overwhelming sense of enjoyment expressed from all involved, but everyone said they would be interested in volunteering again.