Community cleanups
A community cleanup is a great way to show that you and your group care about your local environment. It will also encourage other local residents to take pride in their neighbourhoods.
However big or small you intend your event to be, we can lend you all weeding and litter picking equipment and give you all the advice your volunteers will need for a successful, safe and enjoyable event.
We'll even come and take away the weeds and litter you collect at the end of the day.
How to make your cleanup safe and successful
Location
Decide where your cleanup is going to be. It could be your local park, play area, beach, school grounds, cycle track, footpath or your own street. Don't forget to ask the landowner's permission if the land is privately owned.
Volunteers
You don't need a large group to make a difference. Ask friends, family and local residents. You could also drum up support from other groups in your area such as community groups, businesses, schools, church groups, Scout and Guide groups, environmental groups etc.
Try to make your event as fun as possible to encourage more people of all ages to give up their time to take part. You could theme the event or run it as a challenge or competition and give it an exciting name.
Publicity
If you want to drum up more support for your event why not publicise it? Tell your friends, put up posters in your local shops, and tell us. We can help you publicise your event using our social media channels and post photos of your success when the event has taken place.
Registration
Once you've decided on the date, time and venue, email us at publicrealm@lancaster.gov.uk to register the event details.
Equipment
Once you've told us about your event and the approximate number of people attending, we will supply the following equipment, which you can collect from our White Lund depot.
- Weeding tools
- Litter grabbers
- High-vis vests
- Rubbish bags
Staying safe
Community cleanups are generally very safe and it is unlikely you will encounter any serious hazards or incidents. However before starting your cleanup you should think about any hazards you might come up against, and carry out a risk assessment. You can use our Litter Pick Risk Assessment Form .
You may like to consider taking out public liability insurance if you will be organising regular events with lots of participants.
Volunteer briefing
Before you start your cleanup, gather your volunteers together for a briefing to let them know about:
- The boundaries of the cleanup area
- Health and safety risks
- First aid arrangements and what to do in case of emergency
- Meeting point and time
Be considerate
If you are working in the countryside or open spaces, please be careful not to disturb animals or damage plants, and leave natural rubbish such as logs, stones etc alone.
The result
Let us know what time you'll be finishing, and once you've completed your cleanup we will collect the weeds and litter. We will agree a collection point where the bags must be left in order for our crew to collect them quickly and easily.
Report a weed problem
With effect from April 2020 Lancaster City Council took the decision to stop using the weed killer glyphosate due to concerns about its potential effects on the environment and the health of humans and animals.
As a consequence it passed responsibility for weed killing on the public highway to Lancashire County Council, which had previously paid the city council to undertake the work on its behalf.
To report a weed problem to Lancashire County Council please use the link below and then select the 'Tripping hazard' option.
Last updated: 05 July 2023