COLLEAGUES from York-based veterinary group VetPartners rolled up their sleeves to collect cans, sandwich wrappers, crisp packets, plastic bottles and cigarette butts as part of the UK’s largest mass-action environmental campaign.
The litter pick was organised by colleagues as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean, running from March 13 to 29. The campaign raises awareness of the environmental harm caused by litter and encourages the public to take action by challenging themselves to collect as many bags of rubbish as possible.
Thirty colleagues from VetPartners based at their headquarters at Spitfire House in Clifton Moor, York, joined forces to tackle litter in the surrounding area to help keep the streets clean and waste free.
Seventeen bags of rubbish in total were collected by the volunteers and 13 bags of items to be recycled. A clock was among the most unusual finds.
VetPartners – a group of veterinary practices and animal healthcare businesses across the UK and Europe – is committed to reaching Net Zero by 2045 as part of its long-term sustainability goals.
Their annual litter pick is one of the many green projects that colleagues are taking part in throughout 2026.
VetPartners Head of ESG Hannah James said: “We love doing litter picks as it’s a way to give back to the local community that our central support office is in and where many of our colleagues also live.
“It’s also a positive thing to do environmentally. As well as making our outdoor spaces less pleasant, litter is incredibly harmful as it kills millions of wild animals every year in the UK. Litter picking is an action we can take that has an immediate positive effect for people, animals and the planet, and there’s something quite satisfying about seeing the number of bags of rubbish that VetPartners colleagues manage to collect every year.”
VetPartners UK Managing Director Tim Shearman, one of the litter pick volunteers, added: “In our busy working lives, it’s important to take time out for activities like this that make a positive difference to the environment, wildlife and our local communities. Even small actions can have a meaningful impact, and coming together as a team to give something back is not only rewarding, but genuinely uplifting too.”
VetPartners is also tackling waste in the workplace in partnership with TerraCycle’s Zero Waste BoxTM scheme. VetPartners was the first UK veterinary group to provide zero waste boxes for all of its sites in England, Scotland and Wales, and over the last five years, VetPartners practices have recycled more than 32 tonnes of waste through TerraCycle, including surgical gloves, gowns and masks, saving them from incineration or landfill.
The initiative, introduced in 2020, is part of the wider sustainability goals outlined in VetPartners sustainability strategy.
View VetPartners’ latest sustainability report here: https://www.myvetpartners.co.uk/sustainability