Sheffield City Council has pledged to support community litter pickers to keep the streets of the Green City clean.
At a Transport meeting on 30 April, Sheffield City Council proposed to support community activity to keep litter, fly-tipping and bins off the pavements.
This occurred during a review of the Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Investment Plan that aims to grow Sheffield into a ‘great’ and connected city.
From 2024 to 2025, the East Local Area Council spent roughly £2,005.64 of their project spend on litter-related expenditure, as well as £300 on ‘Environmental Volunteer Celebration Events’.
Recently, Julie Gay, 64, a community activist who lives in S17, teamed up with Riverlution by the River Stewardship Company alongside 46 volunteers to help clean up the Sheaf and Porter Rivers.
Mrs Gay said: “Community litter picking is vital to improve the cleanliness of the area and making it safer for children and pets.
“It looks better for residents [and] it builds community spirit and action.”
During their litter-pick on 3 May, the volunteers collected 650 bags of litter and fly-tipping, including five tonne sacks, three dustbins, a shopping trolley, 30 planks of wood, and more.
Mrs Gay has also attended a local school and a Beavers and Cubs group to educate the youth about the effects of litter on our environment.
She said: “It’s not the fault of the Council that people drop litter.
“I do feel that there isn’t enough done to catch the perpetrators, though that comes with a cost that most councils can ill-afford.”
In 2023, The Sheffield City Council contributed £5m towards the regeneration of Fargate, which has recently been completed.
This was inspired by the ‘Grey to Green’ scheme and aimed in part to make the City Centre more environmentally conscious.
This included the addition of new bins in the town centre to combat littering.
Kieron Lake, 28, manager of the Chocolate Bar in Sheffield City Centre, said: “I have seen the new bins in the floor.
“There’s two sets of them and I think they will really help.”
