A HUGE month-long environmental project to clean-up Worcester has been hailed a success.

Organisers of the Rubbish? Sort It! campaign have revealed that more than 1,000 people from across the county pitched in to help.

The project, organised by the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust and city and county councils, aimed to encourage people to recycle their rubbish.

Response

"Apart from one litter-picking event at Lyppard Grange where no one turned up, we have had a great response," said Mark Driscoll, project manager at the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust.

An army of Cub and Scout groups, schools and residents have taken to the streets in recent weeks to help give the city a sweeping facelift.

"We have managed to remove about 30 to 40 tonnes of rubbish from the city, which is about the same number of trucks full," added Mr Driscoll.

"And obviously we have recycled what we can of that, such as glass and aluminium.

"I think the biggest success of the campaign has been raising the awareness among children."

Mr Driscoll stressed that the organisers of the event would be meeting to discuss which areas the campaign had been most successful in and how it could be improved.

"Any ideas on improvements for the future will be very welcome. We would really like people to get back to us with their comments."

Hannah Phoenix, assistant environmental protection officer at the city council, dubbed the campaign a "resounding success".

"The city and county councils, together with the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust have worked together to ensure it has been a success," she said.

"The wide range of well attended events we have organised have helped increase awareness of litter and recycling issues, as well as being great fun for everyone who took part."

The organisers now hope people will remember all of the tips they learnt during the campaign and carry on recycling.

"We would encourage people to carry on putting rubbish in the bin and stop debris entering the rivers, and even better is to recycle it," added Mr Driscoll.