Three friends put down their iPads and instead picked up litter left strewn around Great Dunmow.
Organiser Jamie Kitchingham, age eight, called on support from Archie Backhouse and Aleks Roberts.
With orange rubbish bags from Jamie's mum, who organises the Barnston litter pick every few months, they collected all sorts of rubbish.
The worst area was behind Flitch Industrial Park.
Jamie's mum Karen Clarke said: "They want to keep their town tidy. I think the storm we had possibly had blown a lot out of bins."
Jamie, who is the organiser of litter picking at his school, felt that gathering up the litter will help wildlife to live longer.
As these images show, their finished efforts gathered up a huge haul of discarded items.
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