Campaigns
Bringing back the sparkle
We are working together with Bristol City Council, residents and businesses to bring the sparkle back to Bristol!
Bristol cleans up lovely
The Big Tidy crew is made up of street cleansers, graffiti removal experts, enforcement officers and community engagement officers. Since its launch in October 2019, the crew have deep cleaned over 1,823 streets across the city, removed over 11,000 graffiti tags and cleared a staggering 815 fly-tips. They continue to bring back the sparkle daily to areas of Bristol.
Supporting Bristol residents
Since April 2024, the Big Tidy crew has extended their work to support council residents who may not be able to look after their gardens themselves. The crews are cutting back overgrown vegetation, clearing waste and making gardens more accessible and tidier for the residents to enjoy. Our community engagement team also provide helpful information on getting rid of waste and easy actions to keep the gardens clean in the future. So far we’ve brought the sparkle back to 41 gardens!
Big Tidy Businesses
Businesses play an important part in the Big Tidy! By organising team litter picks, working with customers to clean up local streets, or chatting with other shops to make sure they bring their bins in, there’s lots for our brilliant Bristol businesses to do to bring the sparkle back to the city. Contact the Big Tidy team to get involved.
Little Big Tidiers
Children can also join in with our Little Big Tidiers scheme! Litter picking is a great way to get outside with the family, and as a Little Big Tidier your child completes 6 litter picks (with a special prize at the end!) Register your child here and our team will send you a loyalty card to record your picks.
Bringing the sparkle back
Our community engagement team has spoken to more than 7,000 residents and businesses across the city. They have held community events, such as a multi-agency skip scheme in Knowle and the Easton Leisure Centre paint-out, and supported a whopping 124 litter picks, including a clean-up with the Bristol Bears. Want to get involved? Litter picking is a great way to start!
Join in with a Big Tidy pledge!
We can all do our bit to help keep Bristol clean and green, and keep our neighbourhoods safe and welcoming for everyone. Make your Big Tidy pledge today and do at least one thing to help keep your neighbourhood clean and tidy; it could be reporting fly-tips to the council, helping a neighbour bring their bins in, or organising a community event.
Bristol's got its sparkle back!
The Big Tidy is part of the Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste Clean Streets campaign to make our streets cleaner and greener. The project was launched by former Mayor Marvin Rees in 2019 and has already made big improvements to more than 1,800 streets across Bristol.
After the Big Tidy visited all 34 wards of Bristol, the project now works closely with Bristol City Council to identify and cleanse priority areas. Since April 2023, the crews have brought the sparkle back to over 450 streets, removed 175 fly-tips and sprayed away 6,000+ graffiti tags.
From massive litter picks to serious clean-up jobs, watch the video to find out what bringing the sparkle back to Bristol looks like.
Big Tidy FAQ
All your questions about the Big Tidy, a joint project from Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste.
In the citywide project, the Big Tidy brought a serious sparkle back to all 34 wards of Bristol. Here’s what we got done from September 2019 to March 2023.
- 1,800+ streets, footpaths and bridges sparkling again
- Over 11,000 tags cleared walls, bridges, benches and bollards
- More than 750 tonnes of litter, fly-tip and detritus collected
- 800+ fly-tips cleared and investigated
- 7,000+ residents and businesses engaged by our community engagement team
- 1,196 volunteers completed 90 community litter picks
- 41 Big Tidy community events
Since April 2023, the crews have cleansed over 400 streets, cleared 175 fly-tips and removed over 6,000 graffiti tags in priority areas.
From April 2024, the Big Tidy teams have been visiting priority streets in wards across Bristol. Look out for our lamppost wraps to know when our crews will be in the area!
Specific locations within each ward are chosen for based on data including the local environmental quality survey, quality of life survey, fly-tips removed, litter tonnages, and reporting. We also work with Bristol City Council housing officers to identify gardens and areas that need a deep clean.
Keep an eye on our social media channels to find out where the Big Tidy crew are currently working. We also post about upcoming community litter picks and events that you can get involved in.
If the Big Tidy is coming to your street, you may receive a letter from our friendly community engagement officer telling you the location-specific work we’ll be carrying out in your area.
The Big Tidy is currently working in priority areas, with a focus on council-owned land.
- If you live in a council property and are experiencing an issue relating to litter, fly-tipping, graffiti or overgrown vegetation in your area, please let us know at bigtidy@bristolwastecompany.co.uk and we’ll direct you to the relevant team.
- If you do not live in a council property, you can report lots of different street issues on the Bristol City Council website.
- If you live in a council property and are unable to take care of your garden, please contact your housing officer about organising a Big Tidy visit.
We’re inviting everyone to join in with the Big Tidy by making a Big Tidy pledge to help bring the sparkle back to their street. Pledges can be as simple as picking up the next piece of litter you see and putting it in the bin (or even better, take it home with you to be recycled).
Children can also get involved with our Little Big Tidiers scheme! Litter picking is a great way to get outside with the family, and as a Little Big Tidier your child completes 6 litter picks (with a special prize at the end!) Register your child here and our team will send you a loyalty card to record your picks.
There are loads of ways for you community group to join in the Big Tidy: invite our community engagement officers to speak at your next meeting, organise a Big Tidy litter pick, tell us about the issues in your area, teach your community how to report issues such as flytipping and flyposting, tagging, litter, and streets that need cleaning; tell your network about the campaign on social media, and finally – make a Big Tidy pledge! Don’t forget to use the Big Tidy hashtags on social media: #BristolCleanStreets and #BigTidy
We’d love for your school to join in the Big Tidy! Here are just some ideas for taking part: Invite our community engagement officers to speak at a school assembly, organise a litter pick in the area around your school, let us know what the issues are in your area, tell your network about the campaign on social media, and finally – make a Big Tidy pledge! Don’t forget to use the Big Tidy hashtags on social media: #BristolCleanStreets and #BigTidy
Start by making a Big Tidy pledge! Tell us about the issues in your area, speak to our community engagement officers about your legal obligations for managing commercial waste, and report litter, tagging, fly-tipping and fly-posting to Bristol City Council.
Litter picking is another great way to improve your business’s green credentials, get the team out in the fresh air, and build a strong relationship with local communities. We also encourage Big Tidy businesses to organise their own team litter picks, clean up local streets, or just ask other businesses to bring their bins in.
Want to get involved? Drop us an email at bigtidy@bristolwastecompany.co.uk and our friendly team can get you started. We can also work with you to connect you with local community groups and hold an even bigger litter pick.