Meet the little litter picking hero helping keep neighbourhoods clean in Redbridge

A three-year-old from Redbridge, fed up with seeing people drop litter on the floor has been helping clean up his neighbourhood and is hoping his actions inspire others to help keep the borough tidy.

Tiago Piccaro became the borough’s youngest ever litter picker after noticing rubbish people had dropped in parks and on the street when out walking with his mum, Elisa.

“I’ve always made a point of telling Tiago it’s wrong to throw your rubbish on the floor, but whenever we were out, he’d spot litter and would highlight the bad behaviour he was seeing around him”, said Elisa.

Wanting to encourage Tiago’s willingness to look after his local area, Elisa contacted the Council’s Neighbourhood Team to borrow litter pickers.

Elisa continued: “When I showed Tiago the Council litter pickers and explained what they do, he couldn’t wait to start using them. He loved the idea of going out litter picking.”

Speaking his mind about people littering, Tiago said: “It’s not very nice to throw things on the floor and make it messy. You must put rubbish in the bin.”

The South Woodford duo went out weekly for several months, collecting a total of nearly 30 large bin bags worth of recyclable litter.

Among the rubbish they found discarded were plastic drink bottles, glass beer bottles, tissue, food wrappers and containers, along with what Elisa described as “staggering amounts of single-use plastic waste”.

Speaking about people taking ownership of their neighbourhoods, Elisa said: “If a child as young as Tiago can care about where he lives, we should all be able to. I hope his passion for keeping his neighbourhood clean and tidy inspires others. As a community we all have a responsibility towards looking after the area we live in. It’s our home. There are bins all over the place in the borough, and if you aren’t near one it’s not hard to just take your rubbish home with you. When it comes to littering, the issue isn’t there aren’t enough street cleaners, or the council isn’t doing enough – the problem is the people dropping the litter in the first place. We need to hold ourselves accountable first.” 

Cleaner neighbourhoods help cultivate happier communities because the environment around us can play a big part in our emotional well-being.

Research backed by environmental charity ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ recorded a strong connection between emotional wellbeing and the cleanliness of neighbourhoods. People living in cleaner areas reported higher levels of happiness, lower levels of frustration, and were more likely to say they were proud of where they live.*

From getting rid of rubbish responsibly, to keeping front gardens tidy– there are things we can all do to help keep our streets and neighbourhoods looking great and desirable to live in.

Keep litter off the street

There are over 1,000 public street bins in Redbridge, as well as bins in all our parks too, so there is no excuse to drop litter, including chewing gum and cigarette stubs. Make sure cigarettes are extinguished before you put them in a bin - many street bins have stubbing plates and ashtrays you can use. If you can’t find a bin near you, always take your litter home for disposal.

Dog fouling

As well as being unhygienic and unsightly, did you know dog mess can also cause blindness in humans? Another reason to ensure it’s off our streets. Dog walkers can dispose of bagged dog mess in any public street litter bin in the borough so don’t forget to grab your waste bags when walking the dog. If you can’t find a bin near you, take your dog waste home and put it in your household waste bin. There’s no excuse to leave it behind.

Responsible waste disposal

Last year we spent £350,000 on clearing fly-tipped rubbish dumped on our streets. This money could have been used to support other vital services in the borough if the fly-tips weren’t there.

If you have rubbish that can’t be recycled, or disposed of in your household waste, there are other ways to discard of it. Dumping rubbish on the street should never be an option. From our bulky waste collection service offering residents a free collection every year, to local re-use and recycling centres, find out how to get rid of your rubbish responsibly: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

Untidy front gardens

Help keep your neighbourhood looking nice by keeping your front garden free of mess. Whilst a front garden may be private land, an untidy garden can make the whole street look unpleasant and have a detrimental effect on the local area, including attracting vermin.

Love where you live - Take part in positive community action

There are lots of green initiatives run across the borough to support local communities to play an active part in helping look after our neighbourhoods.

Find out more on how you can make a difference to your neighbourhood: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/

(END)

* Based on research commissioned by Kärcher in conjunction with Keep Britain Tidy