Co-op joins forces with Reach PLC to back campaign to keep communities clean

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 09/09/2020

Central England Co-op has teamed up with Reach PLC and InYourArea.co.uk to back its Don’t Trash our Future campaign and encourage its members and customers to help keep the local community clean and tidy.

The retailer, which has 262 stores across 16 counties, already takes a major interest in the communities it serves and a key part of every decision it makes is based around making a real difference for local people including taking care of the environment.

Now, it is working to highlight the Don’t Trash our Future campaign, alongside newspaper group Reach PLC, community platform InYourArea and campaign group Clean Up Britain, and is backing calls for lasting change to ensure littering and those responsible for it are dealt with far more seriously.

Central England Co-op is encouraging shoppers to sign the campaign petition calling for the maximum fixed penalty notice for littering to be raised to £1,000, to be more responsible with their litter and to potentially take part in localised clean ups.

Natalie Smith, Store Manager, said: “We are proud to be part of the community here and work hard to try and make a real difference for our members and customers.

“As a Society, we are committed to putting the co-operative values and principles into practice in everything we do and that includes being environmentally responsible.
“This is why we have joined forces with (Insert name of title here) to support this great campaign and are asking shoppers to back in any way they can and to help us come together and make a major difference.”

The campaign has already been backed by high profile names such as JLS singer turned farmer JB Gill, Clean Britain patron Jeremy Paxman, broadcaster and animal rights campaigner Clare Balding and her partner Alice Arnold and television presenter Gabby Logan and her husband former Scottish rugby star Kenny.

In a recent survey conducted by InYourArea.co.uk, more than 7,500 respondents overwhelmingly said littering has a negative effect on them and their neighbourhoods and classed it as a big problem.

Ed Walker, Editor-in-Chief of InYourArea.co.uk, said: “In Your Area are proud to be working with the Central England Co-Op to tackle the country’s litter and waste epidemic. With Central England Co-Op's community focused ethos, it made sense to work together promoting the message of our Don’t Trash Our Future campaign far and wide. We want the public to sign our petition to force the government to act. Fixed Penalty Notices need to be increased from £150 to £1000 or 100 hours of community service should be enforced - either way, litter deterrents need to be tougher.”

People can find out more about the campaign, and sign the petition, by visiting https://bit.ly/34j4VVs

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About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,900 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop