They are normally getting stuck into scrums and line-outs and picking up loose balls, but now the stars of Bristol Bears rugby team have got their hands dirty picking up rubbish on Horfield Common.
Head coach Pat Lam corralled a group of players to join 20 school children from Horfield CofE Primary School and Bristol Waste’s litter pickers to send a message to people in Bristol that litter all over the city’s streets and parks is their responsibility - not just the council’s.
The group of players met up after training and linked up with the local schoolkids at the Ardagh Community Trust, along with Cllr Kye Dudd, the man in charge of the city’s waste services.
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The litter pick was to launch this year’s Big Tidy Big Litter Pick, an initiative launched in 2019 by Mayor Marvin Rees to encourage local communities to pick up litter in their area, and keep public places like Horfield Common tidy.
The Bristol Bears are one of the city’s businesses and organisations that have signed up to the Big Tidy Businesses scheme, and have pledged to complete four litter picks a year somewhere in Bristol, bring at least 100 people along over the course of the year and collect 200 bags of waste.
“By engaging businesses and children in litter picking, we want to help them develop a sense of pride in their area, discover new ways to take part in their communities and feel good about cleaning up Bristol,” said a spokesperson for Bristol Waste. “The clean-up will also improve the area for Horfield residents, and we hope our participants’ work will inspire more people to take part in the Big Tidy,” she added.
So far as part of the Big Tidy, Bristol Waste crews have cleaned more than 250 streets this year, removed 1,500 graffiti tags and cleared 100 fly tips across Bristol, visiting 34 of 35 wards in the city.
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