Litter picking with children

Litter on the pavement doesn’t stay there. Wind and rain carry it into drains, streams and the sea. A short litter pick with a grown-up keeps one small place clean.

Eddie in green gloves and a yellow vest, holding a litter grabber pointed at the ground and a bag.

In Gullbrae: the harbour and ferry pier

The harbour and ferry pier in Gullbrae on a sunny day. A paper cup, a crushed can, a blue wrapper and two scraps of paper lie on the pavement by the railings. — The harbour needs help. A cup, a can, a wrapper and some scraps of paper have been dropped by the railings, right next to the water.

Do it together

Younger children (about 5 to 7)

Go with your grown-up to a path or park you know, away from roads and water.
Be the spotter: point to each piece of litter you see.
Your grown-up picks it up with a grabber and puts it in the bag.
Back home, wash your hands well.

Older children (about 8 to 11)

Plan the place with your grown-up: a path or park, away from roads and water.
Wear gloves and use a grabber. Never pick litter up with bare hands.
Pick up paper, wrappers, cups and cans. If you see anything sharp or strange, stop and tell your grown-up.
Back home, wash your hands. Talk about what you found most, and where it might have come from.

For grown-ups: keep it safe

Stay right beside your child, and keep well away from roads, water and steep or slippery banks.
Keep it short: an hour at most.
Never touch needles, syringes or anything that looks like drugs litter. Leave it, note where it is and tell your council.
Pick up broken glass with the grabber only, and put it in two bags so it can’t break through.
Cover any cuts before you start, and wash hands straight afterwards.
Organising a group pick? Check your own council’s guidance first. Breckland Council’s guidance says no more than four children for each grown-up, and some councils lend grabbers and bags.

Source: Breckland Council: guidance notes for litter pickers. Checked 20 October 2026.

When you’ve done it

We did it: put the harbour and ferry pier right

The same harbour view with the pavement clear. The bench, the railings and the ferry are all there, and the litter has gone. — **Put right.** The cup, the can, the wrapper and the paper scraps have gone from the pier, so none of them can blow into the harbour.

Eddie, Priya, Buddy and Wee Bin waving together.

The crew say thank you. Now stick the harbour and ferry pier on your town poster, and fill in a record sheet if you keep a learning log.

Nothing is saved when you press the button. Your progress lives on your poster.

Read the story

The wrapper outside the parlourOne wrapper blows along the promenade, and Angelo, Arthur and Buddy stop it reaching the shore.

Draft, 20 October 2026. The words and pictures are waiting for an educator’s review and a fact check. Gullbrae is made up; your own council’s rules are the ones to follow.