As lockdown restrictions ease, Brits can be expected to flock to the great outdoors all over the U.K, and with only just one in six of us planning to travel abroad this year, it’s another summer of staycations. However, with staycations comes picnics and with picnics comes litter – in fact every year there’s 30 million tonnes of litter dropped, which is up 500% since the 1960s.
To help combat litter leaving, Asda has appointed Picnic Rangers across the country to encourage communities to love where they live and urge people to picnic responsibly. Throughout the months of July and August the Asda Picnic Rangers will be hosting over 400 litter-picks with more than 8,000 people taking to their local parks to clean up, in a bid to encourage Brits to look after their local environment.
The appointed team of Picnic Rangers have explored the regions of the UK and recommended hundreds of new and undiscovered spots for people to picnic in sustainably and ensure they leave no trace. The litter picks will help preserve local beauty areas and allow the public to experience the best of what the UK has to offer.
Suzanne Roe, Senior Manager, Better Communities at Asda said: “We know that last summer many of the beaches, parks and beauty spots across the UK were left with litter strewn around at the end of long sunny days and weekends. I don’t think any of us want to see that this year, so we’ve enlisted our team of Picnic Rangers to help encourage to picnic responsibly. The Picnic Rangers will be coordinating over 400 litter picks across the country and will also be sharing the best kept local beauty spots for people to enjoy. We encourage people to visit their local Asda store to see when their next local litter pick is and to join us in keeping beauty spots beautiful for everyone.”
Rifat Iqbal-khan, Picnic Ranger at Asda Slough said: “I’ve really enjoyed sharing the best picnic locations in my local area and across the region. I hope that with the lockdown restrictions easing our local communities can start to enjoy what the great outdoors has to offer and explore the hidden gems across the country – but to do it in a responsible way. My most important tip is to remember that whatever you take with you when enjoying a picnic, you must take home.”
The Asda litter picks are organised as a simple act of community love and care, which Asda colleagues across the country regularly take part in and organise as a way of giving back to the local area. At the end of the summer, Asda will be donating benches made out of the recycled waste collected at the litter pick events to a park in each region across the UK.
