Big Spring Clean of Wolverhampton hailed as 300 tons of rubbish collected

A total of 3,390 streets across the city - or 472 miles of road- were cleaned up as part of Operation Spring Clean.

And council chiefs today hailed the operation a big success, as they revealed a total of 294 tons of rubbish was picked up from city streets.

A total of 70 tonnes of rubbish was removed by litter pickers and by emptying rubbish bins in the city, while a further 90 tons of rubbish was collected by the council's fleet of smaller mechanical sweepers.

Gulley sweepers collected a further 104 tons of rubbish, while a further 30 tons of mess was collected by opening up drains and gullies and clearing them out.

Operation Spring Clean, which was in partnership with the Express & Star, ran from April 1 to May 9.

Councillor John Reynolds, cabinet boss for city services, said: "We're extremely proud of our staff who during the operation and indeed, all year round, do the jobs that a lot of people wouldn't want to do by removing rubbish and other nasties from our streets.

"This kind of thing is done every day of the year but the thing about this operation is crews descended on areas in one go so it was a highly visible operation."

Other activities carried out during the clean up saw graffiti removed, signs that had been flyposted on street furniture were removed and overgrown shrubs and trees were cut back.

Litter bins were all washed down and those in a poor condition were repaired.

Councillor Reynolds added: "We would like to thank the Express & Star for being our partners on this and for getting the message out there.

"The message is that we have declared war on litter and we don't want it on our streets.

"We've had a great reaction to the campaign on social media as well."

He said the work will now carry on for the council, with staff sill out every single day working to keep the streets clean.

"Now we have done Operation Spring Clean, we would really like to encourage the public to do their bit and keep the city looking as good as it can," he added.

Anyone who spots problems with litter in Wolverhampton can call 01902 551155 or by tweeting @wolvesdirect.