Neighbourhoods will be blitzed by street cleaning teams and residents will be able to get rid of unwanted waste for free next month in Mansfield District Council's 4th annual Tidy Together campaign.
The scheme will run from Monday 6 June until Friday 24 June in support of Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean and is part of the council's commitment to build community pride and help make Mansfield district cleaner and greener and a place where people are proud to live and work.
A limited number of free bulky waste collections will be offered by the council as part of the clean-up, saving residents up to £22.
They will be available on a first-come-first-served basis for up to three items per household. Bookings can be made from Monday 30 May until Friday 17 June online (link removed event has ended for this year)
The council is also offering a limited number of reduced cost collections for electrical goods, such as fridges and freezers (excluding large American and trade-style fridge freezers) washing machines and TVs. Normally these collections would be £17.50 but are reduced to £5 for a maximum of two items per household during the campaign.
Collections can be booked online on the council's website (link removed - event has ended for this year) between Monday 30 May until Friday 17 June, and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.
The council's Street Cleansing team will be carrying out intensive clean-ups around the Garibaldi shops and surrounding estate; the Fenwick Street, Vickers Street, Bainbridge Road and Ridgeway Lane areas of Market Warsop; the Main Road area of Pleasley and various parts of Ravensdale. Meanwhile Friends Groups will be picking up litter in the council's parks, nature reserves and open spaces.
Residents and community groups are also being encouraged to join in by organising their own litter picks. The council has a limited amount of equipment it can loan or provide, including litter pickers and bags. To borrow equipment and arrange for the collection of bagged rubbish, email cleansingadmin@mansfield.gov.uk or call 01623 463463.
Cllr Andy Burgin, Portfolio Holder for the Environment and Leisure, said: "Making Mansfield cleaner and greener is a top priority for the council but we rely on local people doing their bit, too.
"By improving the look of the district and helping to reduce costly problems such as litter and fly-tipping, we can all contribute to improving the quality of life for everyone here and make this district somewhere to be proud of.
“We are especially pleased that we will be able to offer a limited number of free bulky waste collections during this campaign after unavoidable breaks in this service partly due to the national shortage of HGV drivers. We can only apologise for not being able to deliver this service to the level we would like and we are now working hard to clear any backlogs in demand.
"If you have an old sofa or mattress you want to get rid of, Tidy Together will be the ideal time to do that and to dispose of that waste responsibly and without the risk of it being dumped illegally by some unscrupulous operator touting for business on Facebook."
As well as disposing of waste, residents are also being encouraged to "upcycle" as part of Tidy Together by selling or donating furniture in good condition to charity. The British Heart Foundation and The Furniture Project are among those that offer free collections.
People buying new electrical goods are being asked to consider using a take-back scheme where their old appliance is collected as the new one is delivered.