The “Keep Manchester Tidy” campaign is the first formal partnership between a UK city and the national charity Keep Britain Tidy and is a potential trailblazer for a national network of ‘Tidy Cities’ in the future.
The shared ambition of Keep Britain Tidy and the council is for a cleaner city, with better parks, green spaces and waterways, which recycles more and plays its part in limiting the impacts of climate change.
It will involve public sector organisations, businesses, schools and residents’ groups working together to tackle littering in all its forms, with the initial focus for activities being on reducing littering, dog-fouling and fly-tipping.
To support the campaign, an independent taskforce is being formed, with local organisations and businesses invited to get involved to make their contribution to keeping Manchester tidy.
The partnership will be launched at an event on Thursday 15 March, at Manchester Art Gallery. Manchester residents’ groups and key partners including ourselves CityCo & Manchester BID, Metrolink, NCP, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester City Football Club and local housing associations will all attend, to discuss how we can support the campaign and to celebrate the good work already being done across the city to combat littering.
Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Nigel Murphy, says: “We know how passionately our residents feel about the fight against littering and how proud they are of their neighbourhoods. We’re committed to playing our part, by making sure our streets are cleaned and our bins are emptied. However, we need as many people, businesses and organisations as possible on board, which is why we’re so excited about the launch of this ground-breaking new partnership with Keep Britain Tidy.
“By bringing everyone together, we know that we can make a real difference and not just make Manchester tidy, but Keep Manchester Tidy.”
Allison Ogden-Newton, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, adds: “We are very proud to be working with Manchester on its journey to becoming the country’s first ‘Tidy City’ and to see its commitment to creating a fantastic environment for those who work and live in the city, or visit it.
“We know how much people care about the environment on their doorstep and look forward to working with Manchester to realise the vision of a Tidy City.’
