HATS off, today, to the 250 people who teamed up across 26 litter-picking events in Worcester and made this year's Rubbish? Sort It! campaign a huge success.

Though the final amount of rubbish cleared is still being measured, the two tons of waste gathered by the half-way stage of the event suggest what many eyes have already noticed - that the Faithful City is a lot tidier than it was at the start of the month.

All this will have been academic, however, unless we learn some lessons.

As we've said before, there are a number of clues that point to a community that's at ease with itself and takes pride from that fact.

So it bears saying that the total number of pickers this year was well short of the 450 who turned out in 2002.

Far from detracting from the achievement of 2004's volunteer pickers, that underlines how much could be done if a handful of people from each of the city's suburbs and estates added their muscle to the effort.

Then there's the biggest truth of all.

We all know how depressing it is to live on streets plagued by litter and how the alternative - a clean and hygienic city - can raise our spirits.

The stark reality is this: If we want a spotless environment, then every man, woman and child must make a commitment to keep the streets and parks of the Faithful City litter-free all year round, not just every May.

We owe it to ourselves, our neighbours and our visitors to do just that.