Chester McDonald's volunteers join forces to clean up community

More than 45 volunteers from the Broughton Shopping Park, Foregate Street, Chester Retail Park and Forum Shopping Centre McDonald’s restaurants gave up their time to spruce up areas in the community as part of the Great British Spring Clean national campaign.

Volunteers from the Broughton Shopping Park restaurant cleaned up Saltney Recreation Park alongside the councillor for Saltney Veronica Gay as well as volunteers from local schools.

Staff from the other three stores carried out a litter pick at a playground at Meynell Place in Blacon, helping to ensure it remained a great spot for local children to enjoy.

Altogether, across the UK, up to half a million people have been out and about clearing up the places they love as part of a wider campaign to rid the country of litter.

The campaign, backed by wildlife presenter Steve Backshall and organisations including Keep Britain Tidy, the Women’s Institute, the RSPCA and a range of other organisations and businesses, has resulted in the biggest community-led clean-up the country has ever seen.

Jeanette Roe, who owns and operates all four restaurants, said: “The Great British Spring Clean has inspired people to volunteer their time to get outdoors and pick up some of the litter that surrounds and blights the areas we live. We were delighted to participate and I’m proud of my staff who worked hard to make Chester a cleaner place to live.”

Keep Britain Tidy chief executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “We know that more than 50% of people are concerned about the appearance of their local area, with local businesses having a real part to play in resolving this.

“This kind of large-scale clean-up, together with a day-to-day commitment to tackling the problem through litter prevention, is an example of how a business and the people of Britain can make a real difference to their local area.”

Alongside large community litter events like these, every McDonald’s restaurant carries out three litter patrols a day to collect all litter that has been discarded, regardless of its origin.