OxClean – Shaping a Cleaner City

OxClean Spring Clean 2021 is over.
Thanks to everyone who joined in the Big Saturday Clean-Up!
Spring Clean 2022 will be over two weekends –
18 – 20 and 25 – 27 March.

The OxClean Team very much hope that the past year will be a one-off in so many ways. We realised in the New Year that we were unlikely to be able to do our usual March Spring Clean due to Covid restrictions, so this was put on hold pending the easing of restrictions during the Spring.

litter-pickers in store — Now you see them ….

Then on April 1st we discovered that our stock of litter pickers had ‘disappeared’ from the store where they overwinter. But this was no April Fool’s joke, and sadly they have not returned home. Having decided that we should go ahead with the delayed event as soon as possible due to the large amount of rubbish accumulating in public spaces, we set about publicising the theft and fundraising, and we were very fortunate to receive a gift of 200 litter pickers from Oxford Direct Services, plus some very generous public donations which meant we could replace much of our equipment.

So we were able go ahead with a Covid-compliant series of 3 Big Saturday Clean-ups in May and June, to coincide with the Keep Britain Tidy national event. Nearly 700 people in 80 groups went out braving the brambles and nettles that late Spring brings, and collected almost 1.5 tonnes of rubbish and recycling from all around the City. This is less than previously, but a great effort nonetheless.

Our next steps include getting our team of pickers back out for the Oxfordshire Great Big Green Week in September, and continuing to build a cohort of Duke of Edinburgh student volunteers from schools across the city. As always, we are looking for additional help in running our events, no more than a few hours a month on average, so do get in touch at info@oxclean.org.uk if you would like to help – we would love to hear from you.

OxClean is an Oxford Civic Society initiative dedicated to keeping Oxford clean and tidy all year round – ensuring that our beautiful city is a welcoming and pleasant place for people to live, work and visit. We work in partnership with Oxford City Council, The Oxford Times and local community groups and schools.