The Big Spring Clean has Sprung!

We only have to step outside our front door to see cigarette butts stuck in the gutter, chewing gum blotting the landscape and all forms of plastic, paper and other unsightly litter lying in the street. It costs us, as ratepayers, £30 million a year to clean our streets and keep them free of litter. We think it's high time this changed, and this is why TIDY Northern Ireland has teamed up with the Belfast Telegraph to bring you the BIG Spring Clean.

The BIG Spring Clean is running from the 16^th to the 25^th April 2010 during which time the nation is going to give this messy province a makeover and freshen up those tired looking street corners, beaches, fields and roadsides ready for everyone to enjoy in the summer.

We are asking schools, businesses, youth and community groups to get involved in the BIG Spring Clean by organising a local clean up near you. This is your chance to send a clear message to litter louts that their behaviour is unacceptable. By cleaning up our streets you will also be making our country a cleaner, safer, greener place to live - and a clean environment is one where businesses will want to invest, where tourists will want to visit and where we will enjoy a better, healthier, happier quality of life.

To register your event for the Big Spring Clean this year please click here . Here you will also find useful contact information to make sure that you have the right equipment and support for your day. Don't forget to visit the Planning your Clean Up page on the website to get some handy tips on making your day safe, successful and fun.

TIDY Northern Ireland operated the National Spring Clean up until 2003. We are bringing this public engagement campaign back, in partnership with the Belfast Telegraph, as part of our strategy to raise this issue up the agenda to make Northern Ireland Tidy.

Dr Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of TIDY Northern Ireland, wants people to change their behaviour and said, "It is a national disgrace that so many people treat Northern Ireland as one giant litter bin and this campaign is a fantastic opportunity for people to send a clear message to litterers to clean up their act and stop costing us a fortune." Anyone ignoring this message runs the risk of a £50 fine now, or an even heavier fine once the new Clean Neighbourhoods legislation comes into force.

So, it's time to start planning your clean up, mobilising your volunteers and contacting your local council. Together we can make a difference and give our province a BIG Spring Clean.

For more information please phone TIDY NI on 028 9073 6920 or email: jennifer.smyth@tidynorthernireland.org