24/08/2026
2,668 bags of litter. And we're only in August.
In the whole of 2025, our amazing volunteers collected 2,554 bags of litter from communities across Cornwall. This year, between 1 January and 24 August, they've already collected 2,668 bags.
And that's only from the 53% of litter picks we've received data back from so far.
First and foremost, that is an incredible achievement. Every one of those bags represents someone giving up their time to head out into their community and pick up rubbish that shouldn't be there in the first place.
To every volunteer, group and organisation involved, thank you. 💚
But there's another side to these figures that we can't ignore.
WHY IS THERE STILL SO MUCH LITTER?
And why does the amount being collected appear to be increasing rather than decreasing?
Volunteers are doing an extraordinary job, but they can't be expected to keep holding back an endless wave of rubbish.
Litter isn't a problem for litter pickers to solve. It's a problem for all of us. And we need more support.
Whether you're an individual, community group, small business, large organisation, holidaymaker or resident, there are ways you can be part of tackling the problem – from helping prevent litter in the first place to supporting the people working hard to remove it from our environment.
We want more people, businesses and organisations to get involved.
Please get in touch with us at [email protected] to find out how you can help.
We should absolutely celebrate the thousands of bags that have been removed from Cornwall's environment. But ultimately, success shouldn't be measured by how much litter volunteers can collect. It should be measured by how little there is left for them to pick up.
