Communities, local groups and businesses play a vital role in keeping our towns, villages and countryside clean and tidy. It makes them a pleasant place for people to live, work and visit.
A local clean-up is a great way to improve your neighbourhood and get everyone in your community together. Everybody can make a contribution, whatever their age or ability.
If you are a local business, getting customers and staff involved in a community clean-up is also a great way to show your business cares about the local community.
"Meet Up, Clean-Up" is a campaign that brings the Council, residents and neighbourhoods together in a joint effort to eliminate litter on our streets and parks and help restore pride in our towns and villages. If you are planning a community clean-up in your area, fill out our community clean-up request form using the link below and we will provide you with all the equipment you need for a successful event including:
- waste bags
- litter pickers
- disposable gloves
- a skip (only in certain circumstances)
We will uplift all of the litter after it has been collected!
Click on the links below for advice on planning your event, safety guidelines, and some hints and tips.
Before the event
Have you decided what areas of Fife need cleaned? The beach, park, street? Do you have the volunteers required to do the cleanup? When you have decided what you need to do, think about:
* equipment, risk assessments (if required), Public Liability Insurance, landowners permission, first aid, refreshments etc.
During the event
Identify one person who will lead the event on the day. It will be their responsibility to co-ordinate the volunteers and to know what the emergency procedures are.
After the event
Try to report back to your volunteers on what the event achieved. You may also want to tell other people such as local councillors or other local groups. Make sure that one person gathers all of the records and keeps them in a safe place, as you may need them in the future.
The Safer Communities Team would also love to hear how your event went. Please get in touch at safercommunities.team@fife.gov.uk with an update and photograph.
Risk Assessments
You should carry out a risk assessment before the event, this involves:
- Identifying any hazards.
- Deciding who might be harmed and how.
- Evaluating the risks and deciding on precautions.
- Recording your findings and implementing them.
- Reviewing your assessment and updating it if necessary
Click the link below to download a template that you may use and change as required.
Download the risk assessment template
TOP TIPS
Refreshments available for your volunteers. They will be working hard, and they will have to keep their energy up. You could ask a local café to supply the refreshments.
- If possible, have a first-aider at the event.
- If you are organising a public event, make sure all children are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
- Finally, remember to keep a record of who took part and ask people to leave their details if they want to be contacted about future events.
Fife Council is pleased to support local environmental projects and campaigns, but it also wants to ensure that these events are effective, fun and safe. The following guidelines are intended to ensure safety considerations are prominent in the minds of all participants: -
- Always be aware of the possibility of accidents. Consider the potential risks and take every precaution to avoid them.
- Always have a first aid kit on site then working and make someone (preferably trained) responsible for it.
- Know the location of the nearest telephone, doctor and hospital
- Wear adequate clothing for working outdoors and when necessary, protective clothing to suit the nature of the work e.g. hard hats, goggles, gloves, boots
- Do not allow untrained people to use power tools or machinery
- Be aware of the inherent dangers of working in or near water.
- Do not fool about on site with tools or other equipment.
- Cleanup campaigns may lead to the discovery of containers, substances and other objects (syringes or needles) which may be hazardous to your health. When in doubt or suspicious, contact 03451 55 00 22. Do not pick up broken glass with your hands.
- Separate plastics, cans and green waste from general waste.
All terms and conditions imposed for the hire of contractor’s skips must be strictly adhered to
Back To TopIf you are organising cleanup activities or working with members of the public, we would recommend that you obtain liability insurance cover for your group. You can find information regarding this at www.tcv.org.uk/communities/join-community-network. They are offering membership for £10 and access to discounted public liability insurance through Zurich.
If your group does not have insurance, make sure that all members of the group and any volunteers are made aware of this. If they are concerned, they should not get involved in the activity.
Please note:- Fife Council accepts no liability for any loss or damage to property or injury to persons arising from activities carried out by person or group of persons engaged in Community Environmental Care activities and that whether or not these activities are part of a national campaign or otherwise.
Back To TopIf you require a few extra hands, then promoting your event through social media or the press can help. The following template can be used to promote your event:
After you have carried out your community clean-up can you please forward your good news story, along with a photograph (with permission from those who attended) to safercommunities.team@fife.gov.uk and we will advertise the great work that you have done through social media on Facebook and Twitter.
Back To TopFor any further information not covered on this page, email: safercommunities.team@fife.gov.uk
