An initiative to help clean up the local area and give back to the community was carried out by a Stalybridge company.

Forming their new sustainability group, Stepan UK headed out to Gorse Hall equipped with litter pickers and began to clear up the rubbish left around the nature reserve.

To celebrate Earth Day, which takes place at the end of April, each Stepan setting across the world pledged to do their best to look after their own environment – with the Stalybridge company taking it a step further.

Organised by Matt Tarr, the day saw the group splitting off to cover as much ground as possible.

The sun also came out to join them, making for an enjoyable task for staff as well as a selfless act for the community.

Despite working opposite to the beautiful area, many staff members were unaware that Gorse Hall was there, so enjoyed learning about the history of the area on the walk up.

Frequent bottles, bags and packaging was found deposited around the area. A discussion around a distinct lack of bins on the trail spread around the group, something they were perhaps more aware of when consciously picking up litter.

This is one of many projects that the team are set to carry out this year.

They aim to teach the public more about the chemical industry and rewrite an old-fashioned narrative that no longer applies. In doing this, they are actively working to educate the younger generation and provide as many opportunities as possible.

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