Keeping Britain Tidy - a Litter Pick with Veolia in Camden

On the 28th March, a team from Imperial consisting of Elizabeth, Patty, Chris and Spencer made their way to Camden to collaborate with a team from Veolia to take part in the ‘Great British Spring Clean’, a campaign run by ‘Keep Britain Tidy’. The event is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign and involves a pledge to collect a number of bags during a litter pick.

Our team, armed with our very own amazing polythene waste sacks and litter pick sticks, made our way to Lincolns Inn Fields Park, Camden.

Despite some terrible co-driver directions and some in car entertainment which could have been likened to a clubland music party, we eventually arrived to meet the Veolia team consisting of Sam, Emma, and Laura. The awful weather didn’t deter us and after some friendly introductions, and a brief chat, we were put to work.

Upon meeting with the Veolia team, they demonstrated a superior version of the litter pickers, and after borrowing their equipment, we got to it!

The area was well maintained, although we managed to collect a number of rubbish sacks between us, despite temporarily losing Patty (who seemed keen to audition for a Netflix programme which was being filmed. Luckily she didn’t get the part and returned to the team to continue litter picking).

A huge thank you to Michael and Victor at Veolia for making this happen. Meeting and getting to know some of the team members who joined us was enjoyable, notably Laura, to whom we send our condolences for having to ride in the same taxi as us and engage in some "Imperial Team" banter on the way back to the Veolia depot.

All in all, a great day of customer and company camaraderie that also had the potential to improve the environment.