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Clearing Litter

Litter affects our environments and communities in many different ways. More than 2 million pieces of litter are dropped on the streets of the UK every day, costing taxpayers nearly £1 billion every year to clean up. The cash could be used for our communities instead – in schools, parks, sports centres, libraries or community centres. Photos: A littered beach.Litter affects our watercourses, beaches and everything that lives in and around them. Not only is litter unsightly, it can cause a real hazard to wildlife. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), "Rivers represent a key entry point of macro and micro plastics to the ocean. River catchments can carry a significant plastic load to the ocean". Photo: A volunteer environment conservation litter pick with cans and bottles piled up, swans in the background.RiverCare and BeachCare groups work tirelessly clearing litter and in particular, plastic pollution, from their local rivers and beaches. Over the last 12 months, our groups have logged an astounding 24,000 volunteer hours of positive action, and collected more than 60,000kg of litter. Click: visit Keep Britain Tidy to find out more about litter.