Keep Britain Tidy is a UK-based independent environmental charity. The organisation campaigns to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste. It has offices in Wigan and London.
History
Keep Britain Tidy was originally set up by a conference of 26 organisations in 1955. The conference was initiated by the British Women's Institute after a resolution was passed at its 1954 AGM to start a national anti-litter campaign. In 1987, Keep Britain Tidy changed its name to Tidy Britain Group. In 2002, following a merger with environmental awareness charity, Going for Green, the charity changed its name to ENCAMS — short for Environmental Campaigns. In June 2009, the charity changed its name back to Keep Britain Tidy, introducing a new logo highlighting the IT within BRITAIN, reading "Keep It Tidy" as well as "Keep Britain Tidy". The "tidyman" logo is still used in public campaigns, alongside campaign straplines such as "Let's keep it tidy!" and "Help keep it tidy!" Following a year-long strategic alliance, in 2011 Keep Britain Tidy merged with the environmental charity Waste Watch. Keep Britain Tidy became the trading name.
1969: The tidyman logo appears on bins and packaging around the UK.
1970s: Public information films and high-profile national campaigning, including many popular faces of the day, have a marked impact on attitudes towards littering and awareness of the Keep Britain Tidy brand.
1971: The Dangerous Litter Act increases the maximum fine for dropping litter from £10 to £100.
1977: "Clean for the Queen" campaign launched for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.
1991: First People & Places Awards ceremony, the forerunner to the current Keep Britain Tidy Awards.
1992: Seaside Awards launches.
1994: Eco-Schools launches in UK.
1997: The Green Flag Award launches in England, with awards given to seven parks. Now 1,424 Green Flags fly across the UK.
2000s
2000s: Many hard-hitting campaigns are delivered through the decade including: "No, tough and bull" dog fouling campaign, "Rats" cinema ad, "While you"re Down There", "Don't be a Gimp" cinema ad and "Dirty Pig".
2000: Waste Watch campaigning results in establishment of Government backed waste reduction programme.
2001: RiverCare programme launches, followed by BeachCare in 2010 and WatersideCare in 2011.
2002: Tidy Britain Group changes its name to ENCAMS — short for Environmental Campaigns.
2009: The charity changes its name back to Keep Britain Tidy and introduces a new logo highlighting the "IT" within "BRITAIN", reading "Keep It Tidy" as well as "Keep Britain Tidy". The "tidyman" logo is still used in public campaigns.
2010s
2010: "There's no such thing as the dog poo fairy" campaign launched.
2011: Charity Waste Watch and Keep Britain Tidy merge.
2011: The Love Where You Live campaign is launched to the public. The campaign logo includes an updated version of the Tidyman logo featuring a heart.
2012: Keep Britain Tidy's supporters showed the world they love where they live by clearing up their local area ahead of the Olympic torch relay passing through.
2013: Cleaning up litter costs taxpayers almost £1 billion a year in England. Keep Britain Tidy highlights this through the "Which side of the fence?" campaign.
2013: Keep Britain Tidy is featured in "Our Dirty Nation", a BBC OnePanorama documentary on litter.
2014: Keep Britain Tidy launches the Litter Prevention Commitment for businesses, as well as the "We're watching you" dog fouling campaign for land managers.
2014: The Wombles join forces with Keep Britain Tidy again to clean up littered areas, as part of a campaign sponsored by Waitrose.
2015: The charity celebrates 60 years of the "Keep Britain Tidy" brand by holding a prestigious dinner and awards ceremony for its supporters at Liverpool Cathedral.
2016: "Clean For The Queen" is launched to prepare for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday celebrations.
2016: "We're Watching You" campaign wins a UK Charity Award.
Programmes
Keep Britain Tidy runs a number of programmes in England, including Eco-Schools, Seaside Awards, BeachCare, RiverCare, WatersideCare, LOVEmyBEACH, Keep Britain Tidy Network, Love Parks, Big Tidy Up, Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces and the Blue Flag Award for beaches. The organisation managed Keep Scotland Beautiful, Keep Wales Tidy and Tidy Northern Ireland until 2004, at which point they became independent devolved organisations. The Eco-Schools and Blue Flag programmes in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are now run independently by these devolved organisations.
