6 litter picking heroes share their top litter picking tips

Welcome to The Regenerators.

Litter is simply waste in the wrong place and isn’t always down to choice. Often the bins are too full or sometimes there aren’t any nearby.

What is happening around us can affect us, too. By looking after our surroundings and nature – for example, by not littering – we are also looking after ourselves. Additionally, littering costs the local government money and can attract even more rubbish.

If you want to help tidy up your local area, why not get some top tips from the UK’s young litter picking heroes doing their bit?

These 8-year-old triplets from Nottingham started litter picking after learning about the impact of climate change at school. Keen to take action locally, they go litter picking about once a week, as well as sharing their environmental knowledge and tips on their YouTube channel. Here’s their best advice to new litter pickers:

• Wear protective shoes - Choose footwear that covers your whole feet (no sandals!). This helps protect your feet when walking around and coming into contact with rubbish.
• Use gloves – You’ll be picking up rubbish, so wearing reusable gloves is a must. Remember, don’t pick up or touch anything that looks sharp, too dirty or you’re not comfortable with.
• Wear a hi-vis jacket or a bright coloured top - This will make it easier for others to spot you.
• Bring extra bags – Don’t underestimate how much rubbish you’ll be able to collect – better to be safe than sorry!

11-year-old Elizabeth lives on the Wirral, in Merseyside and started litter picking there when she was 6. After seeing someone throw rubbish out of their car window, she was inspired to take action and formed her crew, ‘The Litter Collector’. She’s since encouraged over 80 young people to go litter picking with her and in their own time. Elizabeth suggests that if you’re new to litter picking, you could:

• Ask your local council for help – It’s worth checking if your local council could help provide you with some equipment such as litter pickers and bags.
• Stay safe – Always have an adult with you, and if you spot fly-tipping or any dangerous or clinical waste like needles or syringes, let your local council know so they can collect them safely.
• Make sure you have permission – Wherever you go, make sure you have permission to pick there if you’re on private land.
• Be aware of your surroundings – Remember to look around and be vigilant when litter picking on busy roads, steep slopes or the water’s edge.

These 12 and 10-year-old ‘Litter Kickers’ brothers live in Tonbridge, Kent. They’re huge fans of football and are using their passion for the sport to look after their neighbourhood. Danny and Jojo do an hour of litter picking for every hour of football they play. On special occasions, they went out each day to collect rubbish and help keep Tonbridge tidy – they collected 55 bags of litter during Ramadan last year! Sometimes they even take their litter pickers on holiday. Here’s what they recommend:

• Take photos to document your progress – It can be hard to see just how big your impact is if you don’t record what you’ve done. Take photos so you can count them up at the end of the month or year or post them to social media to encourage others to do something similar.
• Go out in the day time – It gets darker earlier in the winter, so it may be hard to go litter picking after school. In this case, maybe try litter picking at the weekend – or before school if you can get up that early!
• Recycle what you can – See if anything you picked up could be recycled and put it in the correct bin. If you’re not sure, ask an adult to check on the local government website if an item could be recycled.
• Set fun challenges – Bored of your usual litter picking routine? Bring a friend or a sibling along and focus on picking up one type of litter. Challenge each other about who can collect the most items in one litter pick!

Discover more about the planet and how to protect it with the BBC.