Milestone for award-winning litter-pick campaign

Mark Rowlands was inspired to start picking up litter after seeing the amount of waste left at Everest Base Camp

A litter-picking campaign which was started by a Bristol man with the aim of collecting one million bags of rubbish has passed the 50,000 mark.

Mark Rowlands, from Easter Compton, started the campaign in January after he filled a bag with litter at Everest Base Camp in Nepal last year.

The movement has now expanded internationally - with teams as far away as the United States and Vietnam getting involved.

"What this is really about is encouraging people to get outdoors, get active, but give back to your communities at the same time," said Mr Rowlands.

As many as 55,000 bags of rubbish have been collected across the world

"We're seeing a lot in the media about national pride with the St George's cross being draped everywhere which is great but national pride isn't just about flying a flag, it's about how we treat our streets, our parks, our communities.

"Dropping litter isn't pride, looking after where you live is," he added.

Mr Rowlands has been contacting other stakeholders to see if the campaign can be expanded even further.

He has already had a letter of support from Buckingham Palace and he is currently in discussion with representatives from the Prime Minister's office on how to amplify the campaign.

"This forms part of what the government have said they want to do around grassroots community organisations as a way of supporting mental and physical health as well as environmental work," he said.

There is no organised membership for the campaign but people can take part by searching One Million Bags on the fitness app Strava or by using the same hash-tag on social media.

"It's really caught on because its so easy, so simple and so accessible," said Mr Rowlands.

"There's a lot of people out there who are probably embarrassed at the idea of collecting litter but when it's part of a wider group who are trying to achieve a bigger goal for their communities people feel more inclined to be involved.

"There will be a lot of people who say 'that's what I pay council tax for' but the reality is we all know that councils really struggle with funding right now - but this is more about people thinking about themselves and their community," he added.

"When people come together for a common purpose we can make a big difference."

Mr Rowlands added that he was in the process of applying for charitable status.