OxClean
1157. Rosanne Bostock
Rosanne Bostock, from Oxford, founded ‘OxClean’ in 2007, an initiative which now coordinates over 1,200 volunteers and 30 businesses across the city to take action on litter.
After encountering a similar initiative in Sydney whilst travelling, Rosanne was inspired to bring the concept back to her home city, gaining backing from Oxford City Council. ‘OxClean’ has helped witness a reduction of littering in the city, with volunteers in 2017 clearing over 4.5 tonnes of litter, compared to 10 tonnes in 2007. As well as holding an annual Spring Clean campaign, Rosanne has also launched the ‘Spotless Oxford’ campaign to encourage more than 30 leading businesses and institutions in the city to clear up outside their premises on a regular basis.
Rosanne’s award coincides with the 2019 Great British Spring Clean, the country’s largest mass-action environmental campaign run by ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ (pictured below with fellow Points of Light litter heroes Emily Stevenson, Nadia Sparkes, Dhruv Boruah and Jason Alexander).
In a personal letter to Rosanne, Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“The success of your ‘OxClean’ initiative is testament to your extraordinary commitment to cleaning the streets of the beautiful city of Oxford. The support from volunteers you have inspired to take part in your annual clean-up is truly remarkable. You should feel incredibly proud of the impact you have made in reducing littering in your community.”
Rosanne said:
“Cans, plastics, fast food packaging, cause much of today’s litter. Without in depth changes to packaging content and signage, the problems of litter will not go away.”