Campaign to reduce litter in Kettering raises £700 for charities

The ‘Bin it for Good’ campaign saw bins transformed into charity collection pots, featuring a different local charity each month.

Kettering Council joined forces with The Wrigley Company and Keep Britain Tidy, supporting Cransley Hospice, Kettering General Hospital and The Children’s Air Ambulance charities.

Tracy Grunwell, fundraising manager for Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, said: “It’s fantastic to see the Kettering community getting involved and helping to raise money for this incredibly worthy cause.

“The Children’s Air Ambulance is a vital service and we would like to thank all of you for such a fantastic job to help us keep the Children’s Air Ambulance flying.”

Debbie Grant, Cransley Hospice’s fundraising assistant, said: “Cransley Hospice is delighted to have been nominated as one of the charities to be involved with the ‘Bin it for Good’ campaign. 

“Charitable donations enable the hospice to make an enormous difference to the quality of life of the patients in our care.”

Maxine Andrews, fundraising assistant at Kettering General Hospital Fund, said: “This has been a fantastic project for KGH to be involved with. 

“A great big thank you to all the shoppers in Kettering for helping to keep our streets clean and for supporting their local hospital too.”

Month One resulted in a 59 per cent reduction in litter, resulting in £300 to Kettering General Hospital Charity Fund.

Month Two saw a 12 per cent reduction in litter, resulting in £108 to Cransley Hospice.

Month Three resulted in a 52 per cent reduction in litter, resulting in £300 to the Children’s Air Ambulance.

The more litter that went into the bins and the less on the ground, the more money the featured charity of the month would receive, with the money donated by RecycleForce.

Rob Kirk, director at RecycleForce, said: “We’re proud to be involved with the ’Bin it for Good’ campaign and to be donating more than £700 to these important charities.

“It’s been wonderful to hear that the public have been encouraged to put more rubbish in the bins, keeping the streets of Kettering cleaner.”

Brendan Coleman, head of environmental care at Kettering Council, said: “We are delighted to see that the Bin it for Good project showed some big reductions in litter in Kettering town Centre as well as supporting local charities. “Kettering Council is committed to finding new ways to help keep our streets, parks and open spaces free from litter.”

Cllr Mark Rowley, Kettering Council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “The Bin it for Good project supports our work to improve the quality of our local areas.

“The cost of cleansing streets and parks totals £1bn a year across England for local authorities.

“This is money that could be better spent elsewhere, on hospitals, libraries and our parks and recreation, so we encourage residents to use the bins provided.”