Enveco NW Hosts Their First-Ever Thank You Event to Celebrate Blackpool’s Volunteers

On Wednesday, 26 February 2025, Enveco NW hosted their first “Thank You” event at the Blackpool Football Club, celebrating the selfless volunteers who dedicate their time to ‘Keeping Blackpool Tidy’. Over 140 attendees gathered for an afternoon of recognition and appreciation.

Enveco’s 250 dedicated employees work across a range of services. These include Parks and Grounds Maintenance, Street Cleansing, Domestic and Commercial Waste Collection, Blackpool Council and Enveco’s Fleet Maintenance, Pest Control, Building Cleaning, and the management of the Household Waste Recycling Centre (tip). The volunteers who were celebrated at the event play a vital role in ‘Keeping Blackpool Tidy’.

The afternoon began with a presentation showcasing images of volunteers in action—picking up litter, maintaining public spaces, and supporting local initiatives. Diane Farley, Enveco’s Neighborhood Officer, took the stage to express her gratitude to the volunteers for their continuous efforts. She was joined by the Chair of Enveco’s Board, Councillor Adrian Hoyle, who also offered heartfelt thanks, underscoring the vital role that volunteers play.

A memorable highlight was the first appearance of Enveco’s Keep Blackpool Tidy Mascot. The mascot, which promotes responsible waste disposal, was well-received by the crowd, adding a fun and engaging touch to the afternoon. The mascot’s debut was a perfect symbol of Enveco’s efforts to combine education, community involvement, and environmental stewardship.

As part of the celebration, attendees were treated to a tour of the Blackpool Football Club grounds. This special tour was a bonus for everyone, allowing them to connect further with the town’s local culture and landmarks.

This event was a reminder of the power of community engagement. The volunteers’ hard work is essential to adding sparkle to the town.

Enveco’s Managing Director, John Hawkin, said: “We are deeply grateful to all our volunteers for their commitment to ‘Keeping Blackpool Tidy’. This event was a way of showing our appreciation and celebrating their efforts”.

Enveco looks forward to continuing its collaboration with volunteers and residents to ‘Keep Blackpool Tidy’ and from our team we want to say a big THANK YOU for all you do!

Take a look at the pictures from the afternoon by clicking HERE. 

Conclusion of the 2024/25 Bag It, Bin It Campaign

Continuing the Fight Against Dog Fouling in Blackpool: Bag It, Bin It Campaign 2024/2025

As we conclude the second year of the Bag It, Bin It campaign, we reflect on the progress made in addressing the ongoing issue of dog fouling across Blackpool. Launched in partnership with Blackpool Council, the campaign has raised awareness, encouraged responsible dog ownership, and made significant strides in improving community engagement. The team’s continued focus on tackling dog fouling, especially during the darker months when incidents tend to rise, has shown meaningful results.

This year, 502 stencils were deployed throughout the town, reminding dog owners to “Bag It, Bin It,” while over 150 posters were placed in key locations to further reinforce the message. In addition to these visible reminders, we saw a remarkable increase in community participation. Over 500 ‘you have done the right thing’ cards were distributed, giving the responsible dog walkers a chance to enter a competition. The number of cards uploaded online rose to 101, an impressive increase from the previous year.

These efforts reflect a significant uptake in engagement, demonstrating that residents are becoming more mindful of their responsibilities when walking dogs. 3 warnings were issued this year, highlighting our commitment to educating the public and ensuring compliance. While the number of penalties remained low, this aligns with the intention to foster a culture of responsibility rather than relying on punitive measures.

The “Do the Right Thing” competition returned this year to reward responsible dog walkers. Winners are celebrated each month, receiving prizes such as a month’s supply of dog food. The competition not only acknowledges responsible behavior but also helps to inspire others to follow suit.

The challenge remains in continuing to educate and raise awareness. To that end, we continue to use street stencils as a visible tool to reinforce the campaign’s message and encourage responsible dog ownership.

As we wrap up the 2024/2025 campaign, we are proud of the progress made. The success of Bag It, Bin It reflects the power of community collaboration. While there’s still work to be done, we remain committed to reducing dog fouling and maintaining clean streets in Blackpool. By working together, we can continue to “Bag It, Bin It” and create a cleaner, safer environment for everyone.

Project Bags to Bins!

Enveco is committed to mitigating the use of red sacks where possible with project Bags to Bins!

Enveco NW environmental services’ key objectives are to deliver innovative approaches to reduce waste, support reuse, and increase the town’s recycling rate. Along with being a trusted local employer that contributes to the local economy, cares for the local environment, and delivers on climate change improvements whilst working towards keeping Blackpool tidy for residents, businesses, and visitors to enjoy.

One of the numerous projects Enveco implements is the process of providing households with bins when they previously used sacks – this is known as project Bags to Bins.

The bags-to-bins process is where Enveco’s Environment Educational Officer reviews reported areas within the town to understand why these residents don’t have access to a bin.  There are a variety of reasons why this occurs. For example, households may not have been issued private wheeled bins or communal euro bins; there may not be a suitable space for the bins to be stored or presented, such as no boundary space outside the property; or the alleyway may be unsuitable for the wagons to drive near.

Following the area review, if the Environment Educational Officer believes bins will be suitable for the residences, a second assessment is performed with the Domestic Waste Supervisor, who looks at collection logistics.

If it is in the best interest of properties to make the switch from Bags to Bins in that specific area, a letter will be sent to the property giving at least two weeks’ notice of when the bins will be delivered; normal bag collections will continue until the bins are delivered, as stated on the letter; bins are normally delivered within the same week as the new waste collection. The grey-lidded bin is always the first to be collected. The delivery will include a grey and blue bin, and recycling sack, as well as literature informing residents of collection days and other important information. If a property of multiple occupancy is receiving a euro bin the letter will include a map of where the bin is kept.

The goal of this approach is to encourage residents to recycle, reduce waste on the streets caused by torn bags, and improve the overall aesthetic appeal of the town.

Enveco successfully transferred 590 properties from Bags to Bins from June 2022 to July 2023. The benefit seen is that streets are cleaner, and residents are more positive as a result of having the ability to recycle, which encourages civic pride within the Town.

There are occasions after investigation, it is determined that bins would not be suitable for residents for reasons such as insufficient storage space for wheeled bins, the presentation ground being unsuitable for the bins to be wheeled across, resulting in damaged ground and wheels, or the presentation area being unsuitable for wagons to collect, due to tight road size, etc.

If properties are not suitable for wheeled bins, Seagull-proof sacks are an alternate approach to keep wildlife from tearing sacks open. These large black sacks hold three red sacks, fasten with Velcro, and allow households to put out these bags the night before collection with the peace of knowledge that their waste would be safe until the next day’s collection.

If you would like Enveco to consider your area for wheeled bins, bags, or Seagull-proof sacks, simply email: recycling@enveconw.co.uk.