Litter Free Leeds: Why the city's purple army will be out in force this weekend
Leeds's own purple army will be out in force this weekend as it attempts to give your city a much needed deep spring clean.
Now in its fifth year Leeds Goes Purple is an annual event run by Litter Free Leeds, a growing movement which brings communities, groups and individuals together to tackle the growing problem of littering and fly-tipping across the city.
Scores of volunteers will be out and about from Friday, March 27, through to Sunday, March 29, filling the group’s purple bags with discarded rubbish littering the city’s streets, green spaces and grass verges.
Litter Free Leeds co-ordinator Sandra McLean said the Leeds Goes Purple was the group’s flagship event.
“We're encouraging as many of our litter pickers as possible to get involved. Some will join group events, but the majority will just go out individually as they do business as usual.
“We call them lone wolves, just going out when it's convenient. But what's important is that, every bag filled makes a difference in Leeds. That's sort of our mantra. We're also trying to litter pick on what we call high visibility roads and open green spaces.”
“We do it over the three days because obviously Friday it attracts people who maybe want to do it in work time. And then of course we have the weekend.”
Sandra says the council’s neighbourhood teams were urged not to collect the purple bags until the end of the Leeds Goes Purple clean up.
“It adds to the impact, actually seeing more purple bags out on the streets,” says Sandra. ”Purple is our very, very strong brand. It's on our purple hi vis jackets, it's on our bags and it's actually what I think catches people's eye and attracts people to want to join us.”
She added: “Our biggest challenge is how do we change behaviours of the minority of people that continue to do it? The council are doing their bit putting new bins in. They've asked us where the best place is to put them because we have sort of litter hotspots around Leeds. That should help.”
And her message to anyone considering getting involved in Leeds Goes Purple? “Give it a go. if you truly care about where you live and you want to live in a clean, tidy, free environment, then be part of the solution,” says Sandra. “It's fun, friendly, and free. So, just come out and give it a go. you won't be disappointed.”
* For more details on Leeds Goes Purple clean ups in your community visit the Litter Free Leeds facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/litterfreeleeds or their website - https://litterfreeleeds.co.uk/