100 Bags of Litter in 100 Days in the Big Spring Clean

A group of young people in Darlington have committed to clear 100 bags of litter in 100 days as part of a project they are calling the Big Spring Clean.
Darlington Rotaract – a community group for 18 to 30 year olds formed in January – works on projects which benefit the community.
Their president, Gilly Russell, said: ‘Initially we thought litter picking would be something useful to do regularly and safely during lockdown.
‘But on seeing the impact of our first few picks in Bank Top, South Park and Pensbury Street Park we decided to increase our target and challenge ourselves.’
So the group launched the Big Spring Clean to pick 100 bags of litter in 100 days. The hundred days started on March 21st – the first day of spring - at Eastbourne Park where they picked seven bags of litter.
Gilly said: ‘Our overall aim is to increase the enjoyment of Darlington's green spaces and also help the environment by removing materials that would take years or decades to naturally decay.
‘Even things such as orange peel takes two years to decompose and cigarette ends can last over a decade.’
The group of about six litter pickers has planned another three picks in the coming weeks and hopes to achieve 30 bags by the end of April.
It would welcome anybody who wanted to help or who might be interested in joining – contact darlorotaract@gmail.com or through social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) @DarloRotaract.
Rotaract, which has about 20 members, is linked to Darlington Rotary whose youth services committee helped start the group