Sutton Council is encouraging residents to play their part in keeping borough streets cleaner – and local charities and good causes will benefit by their doing do.

The council is taking part in an anti-littering project that was launched this week in four areas across England. It has joined forces with the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and The Wrigley Company in a bid to keep the streets of Sutton cleaner.

Carshalton High Street and Westmead Road are taking part in the three-month project, where litter bins will be transformed into charity collection pots, featuring a different charity each month. The three charities are The National Autistic Society (Sutton branch), Sutton ShopMobility and St Raphael’s Hospice.

The more litter that goes into the bins and the less on the ground, the more money the featured charity of the month will receive from an allocated budget.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We are excited to be taking part in the Bin it for Good project in Carshalton High Street and Westmead Road. Sutton spends over £3m a year on keeping our streets, parks and open spaces free from litter. At a time when our budgets are being severely cut, any savings can make a big difference and save taxpayers money. We can’t keep cleaning up after those who litter and the only way to really tackle this is to alter the habits of people who drop litter without thinking. The Bin it for Good project supports Sutton Council’s One Planet goals to work to improve the quality of our local areas.”

A three-month pilot scheme in Rayleigh, Essex in 2014 saw a reduction of over 42 per cent in the amount of litter. At the same time, three local charities received more than £1,300 in donations and the project was also nominated for two Local Government Chronicle Awards.

In 2015, Bin it for Good was successfully extended to a further five locations to test the initiative in different locations. The project was well received by all partners and by the public, achieving on average a 30 per cent decrease in litter where it was successful, with Prudhoe town centre in Northumberland seeing a 52 per cent reduction in litter.

Allison Ogden-Newton, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:

“Bin if for Good is a win-win for communities. It cuts the amount of litter on the ground at the same time as supporting local charities. We are delighted to be working with Sutton Council as part of this rollout and look forward to seeing some more fantastic results.”

Sutton Council is working to reduce littering in partnership with borough residents of all ages, as well as local businesses. So far, 110 Sutton businesses have signed the #CleanStreetsSutton pledge to reduce the amount of litter around their shopfronts and business premises.

Local people have also been involved in sharing their litter loathes to encourage residents and visitors to take pride in the borough, helping to create an attractive and environmentally sustainable place to work, live, and play.

Mark Andrews, General Manager of Wrigley UK, said:

“After more than a decade of experience in supporting programmes to tackle litter it is clear to us that the challenge will only be solved through behaviour change, education and encouraging responsible disposal. Bin it for Good shows the huge potential in harnessing people’s support for local charities to change behaviour on litter and it is exciting to work with Keep Britain Tidy to refine the scheme so it can be used more widely. This is one of a series of new and deepened programmes that we are undertaking this autumn to help make a substantial difference on this issue.”