We want to ‘B’ better, especially in B Corp month. And what better way to give back to our community than to join Stratford Upon Avon Rubbish Friends and go litter picking?

Rubbish Friends is more than a volunteer-run business, it’s a community. They arrange multiple litter picks a year and you can also go on your own time (borrowing their equipment, as we did). We were lucky enough to choose the only sunny day in the week. We popped on our hi-viz, gloved up and headed out in the sunshine. Within just a few steps, we’d already picked our first pieces of litter.

It is difficult to see the disregard for the environment. However, it’s great to make a difference!

We pick up cans, bottles, wrappers and what feels like hundreds of cigarette butts. And we also found some rather strange items! Top of our list of unusual items is a witch’s broomstick. Thanks Emma for modelling it! Moving on from that, we stumble across a shocking sight. A long alleyway stretching nearly 200 metres was heaped with litter: plastic cups, cans, bottles and even clothes. It is sad to see the quantity of rubbish/fly-tipping. We gather what we can reach, although much is embedded and tangled, and report it to our local authority.

We continue along the main streets of Stratford. Picking up yet more cigarette ends! How long do you think it takes for a cigarette to decompose?

14 years! All the time releasing toxins into the environment

Litter picking is addictive…

It is great to litter pick out in the fresh air, to be out with people and is very addictive. It’s very similar to a treasure hunt. We will definitely do it again. Our aim is to litter pick on a monthly basis.