Chelmsford City Council has installed 45 magnetic stickers on bins throughout the city centre's busiest areas. Designed to look like an instant messaging app, the eye-catching stickers use emojis to ask passers-by to 'Be a cool guy, not a clown - bin your litter and love your Chelmsford'.
The stickers were added last Thursday and will remain up for at least a month. They are part of the Council's long-running 'Love Your Chelmsford' campaign, which is all about taking care of our local environment and reducing Chelmsford's impact on the planet.
Rebecca Moss, one of the Council's 'Love Your Chelmsford' officers, said, "Part of the Council's job is to tidy up litter and keep the streets clean. That all costs Chelmsford taxpayers money - which could be saved if people didn't drop litter on their own streets in the first place. Councils across the country are always coming up with creative ways to get this message across to people, but really it's so simple it can be expressed with emojis! We live in a lovely city, so let's keep it clean and beautiful."
Litter itself can have a surprisingly far-reaching impact. Spending time in areas that have lots of litter and don't look well-cared-for can affect our emotional and mental wellbeing. Keep Britain Tidy recently reported that "litter is one of the first signs of social decay. If we don't care about litter on our street, in our parks or our high streets, we are unlikely to care about other environmental issues that negatively impact on our lives, our communities and society."
While the stickers are up, the Council is also posting matching anti-littering messages from its @ChelmsCouncil accounts on Twitter and Facebook.
Alongside regular campaigns, Love Your Chelmsford also offers frequent opportunities to get involved by volunteering or coming along to litter picks. Events are well-attended, with around 100 people coming to the regular 'River Clean-Ups', and are a popular way for families to teach children about looking after the environment. Find out more at http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/lyc or on Facebook http://@LoveYourChelmsford.
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