Walsall Council’s Community Litter Watch has celebrated five years of litter busting, which has seen 67,000 bags of rubbish removed from the town's streets.

Since 2019, group volunteers have removed 67,461 bags of rubbish from Walsall's streets. The total weight of this rubbish is estimated to be 539 kilograms, equivalent to 108 Elephants, eight Space shuttles or 60 T-Rex’s.  

Volunteers were invited to an afternoon at the Mayor’s Parlour, which celebrated all the hard work that has taken place over the past five. 

Walsall Council’s Community Litter Watch was launched in October 2019 in response to requests from residents expressing an interest in litter picking. WCLW works in partnership with residents, community groups and volunteers, empowering them to take responsibility for improvements to their locality. 

The Mayor of Walsall, Councillor Anthony Harris, said: "It was wonderful to welcome the volunteers into the parlour to celebrate all the amazing work they do.

"Litter is a blight on our borough, and I wish we could snap our fingers and stop it from happening. But these volunteers turn up to do what they can to keep our streets clean, and for that, I am truly grateful."

Since 2021, volunteers have given up 29,382 hours of their time, the equivalent of 3 years, 18 weeks, 3 days, 6 hours, and 34 minutes. 

The group has 1182 signed up volunteers and has seen multiple award successes. WCLW won the Keep Britain Tidy Community Award in 2021, and member Mike Hawes won the Litter Hero award in 2023. 

Councillor Gary Flint, Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing at Walsall Council added: "Walsall Community Litter Watch is a resounding success in so many ways, and I am so thankful to everyone who has been involved since it started in 2019.

"It is great we have 14 active litter-picking groups, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to get involved. It really improves the pride people feel in their local area and is a great way to get out in the fresh air and meet new people."

Walsall Council is encouraging more residents to come forward and have an impact on their borough. The authority can provide hi-vis jackets, litter pickers, gloves and bags.  

Information on how to volunteer, groups to get involved with and how to request equipment can all be found on the Walsall Council website.