13 November, 2026

Last week, as part of our ‘Good Days’ at Good Business, six of us swapped screens for litter pickers to contribute to Surfers Against Sewage’s Million Mile Clean. With the beach slightly inconvenient for a London-based team, we headed to the Grand Union Canal around Perivale in West London.

We knew there was a litter problem. But we weren’t prepared for quite how bad it was.

The canalside was clogged with cans, bottles, wrappers and little black corner-shop bags. What it wasn’t clogged with was bins. By the end, we’d collected roughly ten bags, finally finding somewhere to sort the haul for recycling, including an alarming number of cans.

It left us thinking about two things.

First, you can’t litter-pick your way out of a systemic problem. The same types of rubbish kept appearing, while bins were scarce. Better recycling infrastructure matters, as does making packaging worth returning. The UK’s Deposit Return Scheme feels particularly welcome after several hours picking cans off the canalside.

Second, getting away from our desks reminded us why days like this matter. We spent a day together, outside, doing something tangible and confronting a problem that’s easy to ignore from behind a laptop.

A small crew of Good Business litter-pickers won’t clean up the Grand Union Canal alone. But six people and ten bags left one stretch better than we found it. So, if you’ve got a volunteering day going spare, Surfers Against Sewage will provide the kit. Be patient, bring sturdy shoes, strong arms and perhaps slightly lower expectations of your fellow humans.

 

By Bertie Bateman