This event has no been rescheduled. For more information and updates, please visit https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean
A Coca-Cola European Partners spokesperson said:
“This week, Keep Britain Tidy announced they have taken the decision to postpone the Great British Spring Clean until 11-27th September 2020. We are also postponing our planned clean-ups until the new campaign period in September.
“We have been so pleased by the support customers have already shown for this year’s Great British Spring Clean and hope that they get behind it again later in the year, when we will be on hand to support once again. The Great British September Clean will have an even greater role to play in uniting communities after these difficult times – giving people an opportunity to come together and show their support, to help #KeepBritianTidy.
“Anyone who has established plans to host clean-ups that they wish to continue with, should litter-pick in line with KBT’s safety guidelines and be sure to align with the latest guidance from government.”
What is the Great British Spring Clean?
The Great British Spring Clean is the country’s biggest clean-up initiative, and brings groups of volunteers together to help clean up their local communities.
Last year, more than half a million people took part in the Great British Spring Clean, cleaning up more than 4,300 tonnes of litter from across the country [1].
The aim isn’t just to get people to pick up litter and improve public places; it’s about changing behaviour for the better, instilling a sense of local pride and inspiring future generations to take care of the environment.
Why is CCEP a supporter of the Great British Spring Clean?
Not only does litter spoil the natural beauty of our environment, it also poses a threat to wildlife – on land and when it ends up in the sea.
We also know that litter attracts litter; research from Keep Britain Tidy shows the presence of litter can act as a social cue, implying that it is acceptable to drop litter at an already-littered site.
That’s why as part of our This is Forward sustainability action plan, we are passionate in our belief that none of our bottles or cans end up as litter. We want all of them to be recovered and recycled, and initiatives like the Great British Spring Clean will help make this possible.
As a GB business with offices and manufacturing sites across the country, we can mobilise our colleagues to help make a real difference to the communities in which we operate, and we think this is something pubs can do too.
Last year, CCEP hosted 28 clean-ups with more than 300 of our colleagues, and this year we want to do even more.
Why is it important for publicans to get involved?
Community pubs with strong relationships with local residents are ideally placed to organise clean-up events and bring people together.
Working with customers to clean up the area near your pub is a great way to boost local pride and community spirit, and to change the way people think about litter for good.
Taking part in a positive campaign like the Great British Spring Clean will also help enhance public perceptions of your pub and strengthen your position at the heart of the community.
How can publicans and their customers get involved?
If you’re interested in hosting a clean-up event, you can download a free ‘Guide to Hosting a Community Clean-Up’ from the sustainability section of the CCEP Customer Hub (https://cokecustomerhub.co.uk/sustainability/), where there’s also an editable, downloadable poster to display in your pub and a link to the Great British Spring Clean website – where you can register.
Once you have registered on the Great British Spring Clean website, the first 50 customers to add a ‘Clean Up’ event while clicking on the correct CCEP partner drop down will receive a free CCEP ‘clean-up kit’, which includes litter pickers, gloves and high-vis jackets.
Last year, the CCEP customers who got involved delivered around 2,100 litter-picking hours with the free clean-up kits we provided.
It’s a good idea to spread the word of your event via social media, using hashtags like #GBSpringClean and #LitterHeroes before and after your clean-up to help increase engagement. You can also invite local organisations to get involved.
And if you share your experiences with CCEP after hosting a community clean-up event, we’ll enter you into a free prize draw for a chance to win £1,000 for a charity or good cause of your choice. Registered venues will receive more information in due course.
What else is CCEP doing to support sustainability?
Sustainability is essential for any well-run business. At CCEP, sustainability has been core to our business for many years and we have made tremendous progress but believe there is much more to do.
All of our bottles and cans are 100% recyclable, more than half of the glass used in our bottles is recycled glass and our glass Coca-Cola bottle is over 20% lighter than it was eight years ago, helping to reduce the carbon footprint.
Within on-the-go and home formats, all our bottles will shortly be made with 50% recycled plastic (rPET) and we’ve gone a step further with our Glacéau Smartwater bottles, which are now all made from 100% rPET.
We’ll also continue to use our brands to encourage recycling with ‘Please Recycle Me’ on our on-the-go carbonated soft drink bottle caps and investment in large-scale advertising campaigns like our recent Sending Plastic Around in Circles campaign.
[1] https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/local-authorities/reduce-litter/general-litter