If you'd like to help keep your borough cleaner and wish to hold a litter pick, we can help.
Litter picking offers you the chance to get moving and meet new people while helping making your borough a better place to live, work and visit.
Litter has a huge impact on the environment too. It not only tarnishes local parks and beauty spots, but wildlife can suffer injuries or illness due to the things people drop as litter.
Join the Great British Spring Clean
We're supporting Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean campaign by asking residents to pledge to collect just one bag of litter in a bid to clean up the environment on our doorstep.
The campaign, running from Friday, 15 March 2024 to Sunday, 31 March 2024, aims to bring together individuals, organisations, businesses, and councils to make a difference.
We’d love to share your success on our social media channels, so please tag us and include the hashtags #GBSpringClean and #BigBagChallenge .
You can also email us your pictures at litterpick@rochdale.gov.uk .
Kits for litter picking
You can borrow litter picking kits from us when they're available.
There are 2 different kits to choose from:
- Kit A - £20 refundable deposit: includes 10 litter pickers, 10 bag holders, 10 high visibility vests, 10 pairs of gloves and a roll of green waste sacks.
- Kit B - £50 refundable deposit: includes 30 litter pickers, 30 bag holders, 30 high visibility vests, 30 pairs of gloves and a roll of green waste sacks.
Request a kit
To borrow a litter picking kit:
- Complete the online form below at least 2 weeks before you want to hold your litter pick.
- We'll contact you within 5 days of receiving your form to confirm the details and arrange a time for you to collect the equipment you need from our depot in Heywood.
- You'll need to pay a refundable deposit when you collect the items. You can pay with cash or a card. Please check the equipment and let us know if anything is missing or broken.
- Hold your litter pick.
- You can take the rubbish to the local waste and recycling centre (tip) or we'll collect bagged rubbish from your indicated collection point and dispose of it on your behalf. Find your nearest recycling centre (tip).
- Return the equipment to us and as long as it's still in good condition, you'll get your deposit back.
Apply to borrow a volunteer litter picking kit online
How to organise a litter pick
When deciding to hold a litter pick, here are a few steps for you to consider.
- Choose an area to tidy up. You might want to consider routes to schools, parks, playgrounds, public footpaths, green spaces, bus stops, nature reserves, school grounds or anywhere else people gather.
- Visit the area you'd like to litter pick to make sure it's a safe place for you and your group to work.
- Get permission from the landowner if it's on private land.
- Check for any other local community groups you could join in your area.
Promoting your work
If you would like us to promote your hard work, please take photos and we'll consider featuring these on publicity materials.
Email your photos to litterpick@rochdale.gov.uk.
Volunteers take part in The Great British Spring Clean at Norden Jubilee Park.
Buy litter pickers
You can purchase litter pickers from a number of places such as:
- At your local hardware or DIY shops, or online.
- From Keep Britain Tidy's litter picking shop.
- From our depot at Green Lane, Heywood for £5.
Litter picking on your own
If you're litter picking as an individual or family, you'll need to dispose of any waste or recycling you collect either through your household bins or at your local recycling centre (tip).
Extra kudos to you if you manage to recycle any plastic bottles, glass bottles or cans. Thank you for trying to make a difference by tidying up our borough.
Before holding a litter pick, please read our litter picking safety checklist.
Reasons to litter pick
It's a great way to show your pride in Rochdale borough. We all like to live and work in a clean area, free from rubbish and litter.
Holding a litter pick will also help us reduce the amount we spend on cleaning up rubbish. We collect more than 10 tonnes of litter every week which costs you and other taxpayers in Rochdale £1 million every year.
Regular exercise can help improve your mental health too. By getting outdoors and holding a litter pick, you could help:
- Manage stress and anxiety
- Improve your mood
- Boost your self-esteem
- Improve your sleep
Want to do more?
We've got a number of volunteering opportunities in the borough you may be interested in.
Our green volunteer scheme gives you a chance to join us, meet new people and share and improve your skills in a variety of horticultural and countryside management activities.
We’ve also got a number of useful tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, which indicates the impact our activities have on the environment.
Reporting litter
You can tell us about littering or fly-tipping you see in the borough.
We're responsible for ensuring the borough is kept as clean as possible.