AN anti litter campaign has been rolled out to over 3,000 people in north Durham to encourage them to look after their environment.

The Litter Education Awareness Focus (LEAF) scheme was carried out by Groundwork west Durham and Derwentside District Council.

The theme of ‘Don’t LEAVE your litter’ was spread to children and young people in the area.

The anti-litter education and activities focused on the three R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle and encouraged hundreds of children to be creative with litter, while learning about the importance of bins as a solution to the litter problem.

Dozens of schools, businesses and community groups supported LEAF, with individuals and organisations signing the Derwentside Litter Pledge. The idea is to getting in the habit of always using a bin, recycling whenever possible and encourage others to do the same. All primary schools who took part received a talking penguin litter bin and wooden LEAF plaque.

Melanie Howd said, "The school children were motivated by an alarming statistic of 69,000 animals in the UK last year injured or fatally wounded due to litter, and having been shown the effects on pets and wildlife, they have been keen to tackle the issues."

LEAF has involved 2427 young people, 487 adults, 54 nurseries, 33 businesses and delivered over 20 community sessions. Further funding has now been secured and a new and more extensive LEAF programme is being launched and challenging more children and young people to develop litter-free habits.

For further information contact project officer Melanie Howd at Groundwork West Durham on 01207 524 803 or email melanie.howd@groundwork.org.uk