Exeter Businesses Collect 100kg of Litter in City-Wide EO Day Clean Up

Fourteen businesses from across Exeter joined forces on Friday 19th June 2026 to collect more than 100kg of litter during a city-wide clean-up celebrating Employee Ownership (EO) Day 2026.

The Big EO Clean Up 2026, led by Absolute PR and Marketing, Coastal Recycling, Market Carpets and Stephens Scown LLP, brought together more than 50 volunteers to clean shared spaces across Exeter and demonstrate the positive role businesses can play in their local communities.

All waste collected – ranging from discarded cutlery to cigarette butts – will be processed by Coastal Recycling. 20% of the waste collected was recyclable and the rest will be sent to create energy-from-waste, ensuring none of the litter collected goes to landfill.

Over 50 participants supported the event including organisations from across the public, voluntary and private sectors, with local councils, food banks and sustainability consultancies all taking part.

The event also welcomed six T Level Media students from Exeter College, who supported the clean-up while documenting the day through photography and media coverage, giving young people the opportunity to get involved in a practical sustainability initiative.

Following the clean-up of Exeter’s shared spaces, businesses gathered outside Stephens Scown’s offices in Southernhay to dispose of collected waste, enjoy refreshments and learn more about the employee ownership model from organisations successfully operating this way.

This year’s EO Day theme, “Owning It”, celebrated the positive impact employee-owned businesses can have within their communities, something the Big EO Clean Up organisers wanted to bring to life through this collective litter pick across Exeter.

Nicole Seeff, Marketing and Community Engagement Manager at Coastal Recycling, commented: “It was fantastic to see so many local businesses come together to celebrate EO Day while making a visible difference across Exeter.

“Collecting 100kg of litter is a fantastic achievement. Without action like this, much of that waste could eventually find its way into local rivers and waterways. Instead, we’ve been able to manage it responsibly and keep it out of landfill.

“A huge thank you goes to every business and to the students from Exeter College who gave their time and energy to make the day such a success.

“We intend to make The Big EO Clean Up an annual event and hope to grow it beyond Exeter in the years ahead.”

Meghan Radford, HR and Finance Manager at Market Carpets, added: “Market Carpets was proud to support The Big EO Clean Up. It was a brilliant way to celebrate EO Day and this year’s theme of ‘Owning It’ by taking shared responsibility for the places where we live and work.

“We’ve been employee-owned for more than four years and are passionate about promoting a model built on collaboration, shared responsibility and long-term thinking — values that were reflected throughout the day.”