The council greatly appreciates the efforts of volunteers who help keep Herefordshire free from litter.
How to borrow a litter picking pack
To support community litter picking activities, the council provides volunteers with the basic equipment needed to carry out a litter pick.
This equipment is loaned on a short-term basis to enable volunteers to organise and complete their litter picking event safely and successfully.
The pack includes the required number of:
- Litter pickers
- Gloves
- High visibility vests
- Purple bags
Litter picking packs will need to be collected by you from our depot, the address is below. You will need to return the equipment promptly following the litter picking event. When collecting and returning equipment, you must ask to speak to a member of staff from M Group to enable the equipment to be booked in and out.
The council does not provide bag rings.
Litter picking packs are available for collection upon appointment.
Please note: at least two weeks' notice is required to enable the team to prepare the equipment.
Apply to borrow a litter picking pack
If you are an individual or community group that wants to regularly litter pick, your local city, town, or parish council may have a supply of equipment available to loan out to volunteers.
Alternatively, litter pickers are readily available to purchase both online and at high street retailers.
It is important that you only use council supplied purple sacks/bags when collecting litter so the council can identify the waste as volunteer collected waste rather than fly tipping.
Request purple bags for community litter picks
There is a supply of bags volunteers can collect from reception at our offices in Plough Lane, Hereford between office hours, Monday to Friday.
In addition, purple bags for community litter picks can be collected from our depot at:
Unit 3, Thorn Business Park, Rotherwas, Hereford, HR2 6JT.
To request bags from the depot, please email streetscene@herefordshire.gov.uk in advance as the reception area is not manned.
A member of the team will arrange for them to be available for collection from a member of staff.
Our public realm contractor, M Group, manages the process of handing out and receiving returned litter picking equipment.
Litter pick guidance
Do
- Always wear suitable clothing and appropriate personal protection
- Only pick litter up with a litter grabber
- Ensure that a first aid kit and eye wash are always available on site
- Ensure that everyone involved understands the scope of what is being carried out
- Ensure that the public is always protected
- Implement all the controls necessary to ensure safe working
- Ensure you dynamically risk assess the area you wish to litter pick
- Only litter pick in parks, open spaces, or along roads with a footpath where it is clearly safe for you to litter pick
- If working alone, please make sure someone knows of your whereabouts and the time you are expected to return
Do not
- Pick up abandoned needles or syringes. Leave them where they are and report their location(s) to Herefordshire Council via the website
- Litter pick on high-speed roads or locations where visibility to highway users is limited, along with areas where you cannot position yourself an appropriate distance from the highway to be safe
- Carry out any task that you cannot do safely. If unsure, check with the coordinator
Please note
- One person must be appointed to be in overall charge of the whole site or event
- It is important to assess all potential risks and put in place appropriate control measures
- We can only collect litter from public areas (such as verges, parks, open spaces), litter from private land is the landowner's responsibility
- We will not collect green waste such as garden materials or weeds
What to do with filled bags
- Leave filled bags by a public bin where a works vehicle can park safely out of traffic. If the purple bags are left by a street bin owned by the Council there is no need to report this. These will be collected by operatives when they empty the bin. You are asked to report purple bags for collection if left away from a street bin, you can report them to the council for collection.
Please include
- Number of bags
- Location, including the What 3 Words reference
- Details of any hazardous waste
Please ensure
- Bags are not overfilled (for safe handling)
- Bags are placed where a vehicle can easily access them