West Midlands residents in spotlight for cleaning up their area for free

Yahoo

19 hours ago

Groups across the West Midlands are gaining attention for scrubbing, clearing and tidying up their local spaces.
The litter busters, some of whom operate alone, have been cleaning up areas in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to make a difference to their community - which in turn has gained thousands of views as they share their exploits online.
Some of the groups taking to the streets say they are doing the jobs that councils should be doing, others work with the council and local litter groups, but tackle long neglected places like grubby street signs and children's parks.
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We've taken a look at just some of the groups and individuals making a difference - all determined in their pursuit to clean up streets across the region.
Alan Webb is dedicated to keeping Digbeth's streets clean.
He initially began cleaning Digbeth's streets in 2023 after growing fed up with the litter outside his home and joined the 'Friends of Bradford Street' volunteer group.
Now, every day Alan Webb dedicates an hour of his time to picking up strewn litter, sweeping away broken glass and scrubbing off graffitti tags in Birmingham's public spaces.
"I go out pretty much everyday. Now, I do a litter pick for an hour at 7am everyday," he previously told BirminghamLive.
Adding: "I've got many little fans now. People come up to me and shake my hand."
Alan goes by the handle @x_brum on X, formerly Twitter, and gets thousands of views and reactions for sharing something so simple but pleasing - a bag full of rubbish, and tidy communities left behind.
One tweet from June 23 read: "Monday evening litterpick, keeping my part of the city clean and tidy, round the clock. It is possible to live in a clean city, but people need to change their bad habits. It's as simple as that. LOVE YOUR BRUM."
Monday evening litterpick, keeping my part of the city clean and tidy, round the clock. It is possible to live in a clean city, but people need to change their bad habits. It's as simple as that. LOVE YOUR BRUM x1 bag #OneMillionbags #Cleanerbrum pic.twitter.com/GooIEBnKWn
— Brum X (@x_brum) June 23, 2025
Mentioned above, The Friends of Bradford Street group was set up in August 2022 to tackle high levels of litter plaguing Digbeth.
One shocking video shared by the group on June 30 showed piles of nitrous oxide canisters and a whopping 25 bags collected in just one session.
A massive thanks to the @howells_makes team for joining us today and doing their bit in our community pic.twitter.com/z1DdbpUq88
— Friends of Bradford Street (@Bradford_St_Bhm) June 30, 2025
We asked Birmingham City Council how they prioritise where to clean in the city and what is being done to improve problem areas.
Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: 'We know clean streets is one of the top priorities for residents in Birmingham and everyone has a part to play.
"Our community groups and volunteers do a fantastic job with organised litter-picks, making a real difference to their communities.
"As a council we support this by providing equipment and collecting rubbish after a litter-pick.
'We also have street cleaning crews out and about across the city, with busy shopping areas cleaned daily.
'Those that drop litter show a complete disregard for their environment and we would urge residents and visitors to show respect to others and take their litter home or put it in a bin.'
'Mike the litter picker' has been blitzing litter on his doorstep in Walsall since 2015 - and collects more than 40 rubbish bags each and every month.
Volunteering in spare time, Mike shares his exploits on social media as 'Mike the litter picker', which started off because he was "sick" of seeing rubbish in his local area.
Mike even posted a picture of his litter picking kit folded up to his X feed this week ahead of a trip, with the caption: "I'm off on my holidays to Madeira. I'm taking my kit just in case, compact it will fit in my case. Folding hands picker, lightweight ring, gloves bags cable ties, multi tool, knife, scraper and bin key . Better to have & not need than need & not have it!"
Based in North Solihull, Clean and Green meet up to clean up their local environment, and highlight hazards on their Facebook page, which has 1,300 followers.
One member posted on July 3 that she had cleared 19 glass bottles left festering in an upturned shop trolley in a wooded area.
Group volunteer Graham Frost took BirminghamLive on a tour in March of the "disgraceful" litter and flytipping blighting his neighbourhood of Smith's Wood.
During the tour the Auckland Drive resident pointed out:
Food waste cartons and wrappers left on top and under hedges
Dog mess bagged up and left on the side of paths
Beer cans left on seating areas
A lithium battery on the side of the road
A stained mattress dumped in greenery
An old pram thrown over a fence
Old chairs and a mattress flytipped
Broken glass on paths
A pile of dirt and bricks left on the side of the road
Rubbish bags piled up on top of each other next to the Auckland Drive sign
Mr Frost said at the time: 'It is not actually too bad today as we recently did a pick - it has been a lot worse than this.
'It has been a problem for years before I even moved here five years ago."
Solihull Council said it is planning a pilot to tackle littering and fly tipping in the area.