Bangor Pride partners, including Bangor University, Bangor Students’ Union, Gwynedd Council and the Environment Agency Wales have announced the dates for the biggest ever clean-up of streets in student areas of the City  – ‘Get it Out for Bangor 2010.’

This concerted assault on traditional end-of-term rubbish and litter problems, caused when students clear-out of their houses, will take place during late May and early June.

The aim is to prevent waste being randomly dumped and spilling out over streets, by mounting a campus-wide awareness campaign to focus the student body on their responsibilities for putting out waste at the correct time.

Under the multi-media campaign, student sabbatical officers led by John Jackson, President of the Union, are taking the role of martial arts themed action heroes encouraging their fellow-students to ‘Give Rubbish the Chop’ ‘Sbydwch y Sbwriel’.

Announcing the initiative’s inaugural theme, Spencer George, Deputy President of Bangor Students Union and part of Bangor Pride said:

 “We have taken an innovative approach to encouraging students to participate in the clean-up, by running a themed campaign led by Sabbatical Officers. We believe the powerful impact of our martial arts based campaign is not only important for tackling end of term rubbish, but also in establishing a hands-on approach amongst Bangor students for years to come .”

Peter Simpson, Street Scene Manager of Gwynedd Council said of the project -

“Randomly dumped waste over streets at the end-of-term is not only hugely unsightly and unhealthy, it is also very costly to clear-up.  By working proactively with students to encourage the considerate disposal of their waste, Bangor Pride aims to tackle this problem now and in future years.”  

Gwenan Hine, Assistant Registrar at Bangor University said: “We have been working closely with SU President John Jackson and his team and Gwynedd Council to mount a campaign which we believe is vital for Bangor and for the relationship between the student body and the wider community.  We will be closely monitoring the effectiveness of this approach to improving our local environment.”

Under the banner “They were only four but they fought like four hundred to clean up our city”, high-profile promotions are taking place throughout the campus, and on posters, online as well as information flyers being presented to students in their own homes. 

Landlords are also being urged to encourage their tenants to take part – reminding them that all waste must be disposed of responsibly.

Get it Out for Bangor 2010 is supported by Fly-Tipping Action Wales and a Welsh
Assembly Government Local Environmental Quality Improvement Grant.