On a beautiful, bright, spring afternoon, two intrepid GG runners hit the streets around the Lister Steps Community Centre in Liverpool.

”Lister Steps is a community based charity caring for children from 6 weeks to 14 years of age through nursery, playgroup, breakfast and after school clubs and school holiday schemes. Lister Steps was founded by parents who understand how difficult it can be to balance the needs of family and work. We understand that all children are different, therefore we aim to work in partnership with you to ensure that the care and experience we provide for your child considers their individual interests and abilities.”

Mat and Pauline set off with litter pickers, bags and lots of enthusiasm. Before long, two bags were filled with bottles, cans, baby wipes and a wide variety of plastics. Half an hour later, and the bag count had doubled...with litter ranging from a discarded running shoe (New Balance, no less) to a flat screen television. By the end of two hours, eight bags were brimming with rubbish and the streets looked a lot cleaner.

Much of the litter had been dropped, or blown around the streets, but quite a bit more had been bagged and thrown into surrounding trees, bushes and fields. The most surprising of these was a bin bag full of children’s toys...a little sad, too.

The final task was to dispose of the bags, so a quick trip to the local recycling centre and the job was done.

Sadly, there is always a need for an army of litter pickers around the streets of Liverpool, so please consider joining us on our next mission to clean up our community areas.

Keen to know what is going on in your local area?

Come along to the Community Business Fair, Saturday, 18th May, 10am - 3pm at Lister Steps...see flyer for more details.