Communities across County Durham are being asked to help tackle litter this September as Durham County Council launches its first Big Autumn Clean. Residents, schools, community groups and businesses can join organised litter picks or arrange their own clean-up in their local area.
The seasonal campaign has been introduced as autumn arrives and the evenings become darker. It follows the council’s annual Big Spring Clean and is intended to help keep streets and public spaces tidier through the autumn and winter and into the new year.
Crimdon beach clean marks campaign launch
The Big Autumn Clean was officially launched with a beach clean at Crimdon, organised in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust. A total of 52 volunteers took part, collecting 35 bags of waste along with a tyre, fishing wire and a carpet.
The launch event provides an early example of the work residents can undertake as part of the campaign. The council said people can either attend an organised event or arrange a litter pick themselves.
Council encourages more local volunteers
Cllr Kyle Genner, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, environment and police relations, said the campaign responded to concerns about litter and built on the results of the spring initiative.
“People across County Durham rightly want to live in a clean and tidy environment but, like many places across the UK, litter has become a real issue. Recently in County Durham we announced a series of new measures to help tackle the problem, and one of those was the introduction of our Big Autumn Clean. “The Big Autumn Clean builds on the huge success of our Big Spring Clean initiative, with the hope of reducing the accumulation of rubbish over the autumn and winter to keep our streets and spaces tidier into the new year. “We’re incredibly heartened by the large number of volunteers and litter picking events we already have lined up, and we’d love for more people to get involved. Please get in touch if you’d like to do your bit to keep County Durham clean and tidy.”
How to take part
The council said anyone wanting to join the Big Autumn Clean can attend an organised litter-picking event. Residents who want to organise their own activity should contact the council’s civic pride team for information and support.
Details of how to participate are available at durham.gov.uk/bigautumnclean.
The new campaign follows a substantial response to this year’s Big Spring Clean. Earlier in 2026, 2,700 volunteers gave 5,517 hours to litter picks, collecting 3,946 bags of litter across 442 organised events.