Poole’s Big Clean

Grab your litter picker – it’s time to empty the town of rubbish. Or at least it is for the residents of Poole, who host an annual big clean-up operated entirely by volunteers from the local community. Now, in its third year, the event aims to tackle waste and tidy up the area in time for the peak tourist season. In 2018, the event saw shop windows, store signs and gutters tidied up. As well as the collection of many bags of rubbish. The community scheme also includes dressing shop windows and making the town look as good as possible. “Our Big Clean is a great chance to get involved in prepping the town for its busy summer season,” says Justin Hundley-Appleton, Poole Business Improvement District manager. “We’d like to encourage our local businesses and levy payers to join in along the way and take pride in our surroundings – perhaps encourage a team to come along for a lunchtime litter pick, or get involved with updating your window displays and having a spring clean of the interiors.”

For more information visit poolebid.com

Drink up

Image: Carnaby London

There’s no denying that plastic water bottles are a huge cause of waste. However, it’s not all bad news. The #OneLess campaign, which saw the installation of public drinking fountains across London, dispensed 77,737 litres of water in the last 12 months – that’s the equivalent of 155,474 500ml single-use plastic water bottles. More than half of Londoners who have drunk from the fountains said that they now use fewer plastic bottles due to these water stations being available. And, 84 per cent agreed that they consciously avoid disposable water bottles because they want to protect the ocean. The 15 fountains have been in place since March 2018 and, with the average Londoner getting through 175 bottles of water each year, they’re certainly making a difference.

For more information, visit onelessbottle.org

Haircare goes green

The simple act of washing your hair could now help the environment thanks to Noughty. Throughout July, five per cent of sales from Noughty’s brand new anti-pollution shampoo and conditioners, Tough Cookie, will go towards supporting environmental conservation charity, Fund4Trees (fund4trees.org.uk) who promote the improvement of the natural environment. Launching 1st July, the Tough Cookie Strengthening Shampoo and Conditioner (£6.99 each) are packed with a power trio of bilberry, sea buckthorn, and cloudberry, which helps to protect against urban pollution and strengthen weakened hair. Plus, both products are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and do not contain any parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals or silicones.