Greater Manchester residents have gone above and beyond in this summer’s One Tonne Plastic Challenge, collecting more than 3.7 tonnes of litter from 96 neighbourhoods across the city-region.
The challenge began when Cheshire teenager Thomas Morgan wrote to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, encouraging the city-region to take part in the national One Tonne Plastic Challenge. The initiative, inspired by the Royal Navy’s efforts to remove 2.5 tonnes of litter from UK beaches, aims to inspire communities to clean up their local areas and take pride in their neighbourhoods.
Launched in July 2025 to coincide with Plastic Free July, the Mayor called on residents to grab their litter pickers, hoops and high-vis vests to help clean up their streets. The result was an incredible show of community spirit, with hundreds of volunteers from local councils, schools, and community groups joining forces to make a difference.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
“This challenge has shown the power of community action. When people come together with a shared purpose, to make Greater Manchester cleaner, greener and more welcoming, the results speak for themselves. A huge thank you to everyone who gave up their time to get involved.”
Thomas Morgan, who challenged the region, said:
“To everyone who took part thank you. 3.8 tonnes of rubbish collected is amazing and goes to show what teamwork can do. Liverpool Combined Authority can you do better or will it always be 1 nil to Great Manchester. Let’s save the world one recycling item at a time!”
The campaign was supported by Keep Manchester Tidy, R4GM and SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK and Keep it Clean Wigan, alongside dozens of community groups who organised local clean-ups from parks and allotments to residential streets and riversides. A full list of participating groups and dedicated community heroes across all ten boroughs are in the footnote.
Litter picking is not only good for the environment but also brings people together and boosts wellbeing. Volunteers reported that taking part helped them stay active, meet new people, and feel proud of the areas they helped clean up.
If you’ve been inspired to organise your own litter pick, visit Recycle for Greater Manchester Litter Picking for tips and resources.
If you live in Wigan and want to find out more, please visit Keep it Clean!
Footnote and credits:
The A Team, St Luke’s Church Group. Abbey Hey Community Allotment Pickers, Keep Leve Tidy, AQA, Northern Moor Litter Pickers, Ladybarn Group Pickers, Loxford Street Litter Pickers, Sustrans Yellow Brick Road Litter Pickers, Manchester City Council Neighbourhood Event, NHS, Manchester City Council Corporate Team, Keep Manchester Tidy Team, Northmoor Community, Christ Church the Saviour, Women’s Institute, Wythenshawe Family Group, Wythenshawe Neighbours Group, The Grande, NEPHRA, Good Gym Litter Pickers, Alfurqan Centre Group, Levenshulme Volunteer Group, Tree House Hotel, Bee Safe Manchester, Ardwick Climate Change, Didsbury War On Litter, Shout TMO Housing, CO-OP, Barclays Bank, GMCA Corporate group, Robiquity, Hulme Junior Youth Group, MCC Litter League, Sustainable Communities, Dawoodi Borahs Litter Pickers, Cleaner Crumpsall, Sustrans, Friends Of Sunny Brow Park, Haskoning, Kuits Solicitors, N Brown, Let’s Tidy Trafford Together, Deeplish Summer HAF Programme, Salford Ranger Team, Be Well Wigan & Armed Forces Community HQ CIC, Eccles Labour, Leigh Litter Pickers, Eccles Labour, Wigan Litter Pickers, Borsdane Wood and Rayner Park Friends Group Hindley and the MANY people who came out for a solo litter pick – you’re all local heros!
