A VIDEO stunt organised to promote Clean Cornwall Week saw only two people pick up litter dumped near bins in Falmouth and Truro while 266 people, who passed within one metre of it, ignored it.

The secret experiment conducted over two hours was carried out by Clean Cornwall and the week's sponsors Rodda's to find out how many people would pick up litter in their local high street.

The surprising results show that of the 268 people who passed the litter, some even stepping over it, only one person in Falmouth on The Moor and one in Truro on Lemon Quay picked it up, that's less than 1 per cent.

The partnership between Clean Cornwall and Rodda's is raising awareness of litter in Cornish communities and is encouraging people in the county to help #StopLitter during Clean Cornwall Week which runs from September 19-26.

Commenting on the results, Clean Cornwall Project Manager, Jill Stott said, “It’s easy to forget that we all have a part to play in looking after our local environment. This week, we want to remind people that litter is a problem and help bring the issue back into public awareness. Simple actions can help stop litter, like taking litter home, binning a piece of rubbish you see in the street or on a beach, or joining a local litter pick. Paying more attention to how we create litter in the first place, and understanding what we can do to easily reduce this, is a big part of the discussions we hope Clean Cornwall week will encourage.”

Nicholas Rodda, Managing Director of Rodda’s added, “At Rodda’s we’re proud of the beautiful Cornish countryside and our fantastic high streets. We are supporting this initiative to highlight the importance of all doing our bit to keep Cornwall clean. During the experiment, we were delighted to thank Nick Cuthbert and Catherine Willoughby for picking up litter by giving them a celebratory Rodda’s cream tea.” Rodda’s and Clean Cornwall will also be joining the Camborne Clean and Green group after their regular litter pick on 20 September with a thank you cream tea party.

People wanting to get involved in the week can join one of the many already planned litter picks taking place across the county or can organise their own.

Information on all the picks and advice on how to get involved can be found at: cleancornwall.org/joinin

Volunteer Cornwall is teaming up with Clean Cornwall and asking people to pick up two extra pieces of litter each during Clean Cornwall Week. They hope that by everyone doing their bit, they can remove 1 million pieces of litter from our beaches, hedgerows and streets. #deedaday

During the first week of November Surfers Against Sewage are running their Autumn Beach Clean Series. In the last 18 months over 17,000 people have volunteered with SAS to help remove almost 100 tonnes of marine litter from local beaches around the UK. To join in with the clean-up, email beachcleans@sas.org.uk The 2 Minute Beach Clean is encouraging beach goers to spend only 120 seconds to collect a few pieces of marine litter and dispose of it.

They’re using the hashtag #2minutebeachclean Keep Britain Tidy are also organising BeachCare groups that not only provide opportunities to look after our Cornish beaches, but also to meet new people and make like-minded friends.