Norse employees volunteer time, come rain or shine

Employees at Norse Group locations across the country participated in a voluntary mass litter pick. The tidy-up initiative aligns with World Clean-Up Day (September 17).

The event saw 84 employees at a dozen locations across Norwich, Costessey, Daventry, Exmouth, Barnsley and Newport donning high-viz jackets and using litter pickers to collect more than 160 bags of rubbish.

This year’s Norse Tidy Up on Friday (September 16) also included a joint effort with Newport Norse, the National Resource Wales and Newport City Council, working in partnership as part of the local clean-up initiative.

Matthew Sellwood​, Keep Wales Tidy Project Officer, said: “This year for our Marine Clean Cymru Campaign, we are working with several volunteers to conduct a foreshore clean-up on the banks of the Usk at the Liberty Steel site in Newport. This area constantly is flooded with debris, with litter floating down the Usk, affecting an area rich with wildlife. Unfortunately, this area is yet to be clean-up as part of the campaign due to access.

With Liberty Steel’s support, we have gained access to the foreshore and will remove years and years of built-up waste, preventing it from being washed further down steams to our oceans.”

Laura Edmunds is one of the many from Newport Norse who volunteered their time.

Laura said, “Newport Norse enjoyed volunteering their time to support Newport City Council and National Resource Wales in carrying out the litter pick on the banks of the river Usk at the Liberty Steel Site.

It was an excellent opportunity to give back to the community and support the environment by ensuring less rubbish pollutes our seas and oceans.”

Employees in Devon set out to Exmouth beach to collect litter, finding parts of a lawnmower and plastic piping, while staff from the Norse cleaning division joined Fifers Lane staff.

A team from NEWs (Norse Environmental Waste Services) walked the tree belt along Dereham Road, which was plagued with plastics, weighing 150kg.

Roger Smith, Director of SHEQ (Safety, Heath, Environment and Quality) for Norse, said, “Following 2 years where it was challenging to bring our colleagues together, I’m delighted that we had this opportunity to restart the big tidy.

As a Local Authority Trading Company, it is a fantastic opportunity for people to get away from their place of work and make a positive environmental impact in the local community.

I’m sure everyone would agree that these events will grow year on year as we all commit to securing the future of the environment and all playing our part. So again, I thank all those involved for their contribution.”

The biggest event was in Norwich, where approximately 36 employees tidied in the pouring rain at Hellesdon Recreational Ground and the Community Centre, collecting 32 bags of rubbish.

CEO Justin Galliford said,“The Tidy Up is an instrumental event highlighting wasted resources and the impact this has on our biodiversity. The initiative is a simple but effective way to highlight the net zero and biodiversity challenges associated with packaging design and littering.

Encouraging our employees to volunteer is an impactful way to show our commitment to the environment and the communities we serve.

As an organisation with an ethos to ‘improve people’s lives, we must set a positive example to others.”

The event was a success, proving that the Norse Tidy Up will once again become an important initiative within the Group’s annual calendar.