Southampton: Volunteers clean up former Toys R Us site

The annual event which takes place across 190 countries each year saw volunteers come together to reduce the amount of litter.

On Friday, Decathlon in Southampton joined the movement to encourage colleagues, businesses, and the rest of the community to get involved in cleaning up the city.

In partnership with the city's business improvement district (BID), Go!Southampton, it led the charge on a litter pick around the old Toys R Us site in the city centre.

The group included more than ten volunteers donning gloves, hi-vis jackers and litter pickers as they worked to improve the city’s environment.

Roberto Morales, Operations Manager at Decathlon Southampton said: “At Decathlon, we want to become a driving force and a beacon of light for a sustainable future.

“We have big sustainability ambitions and believe our actions speak louder than words.

“We have a duty to contribute positively to our local environment and communities around our stores across the UK.”

Decathlon, found in Harbour Parade, Southampton provided gloves, bin bags and litter pickers to help the volunteers clear up safely and efficiently.

This year, World Clean Up Day 2023 developed the theme – ‘Lets Do It World’ – for managing solid waste and cleaning up litter from forests, rivers, streets, and beaches.

Stephen Manion, Executive Director, GO! Southampton said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Decathlon on this brilliant cause, everyone felt like they really made a bit of a difference on the litter pick and the whole area looks a lot tidier. It was brilliant to see everyone get involved.”

GO! Southampton team members also joined in and provided a cleaning team to pick up the bags of litter afterwards.