Campaign launched to help keep Angus beautiful
Everyone across Angus is being encouraged to roll up their sleeves and keep their community beautiful as part of #SpringCleanScotland.
Co-ordinated by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, #SpringCleanScotland is the country’s largest annual mass litter picking event and takes place until Friday, April 24.
More than 10,000 people have already registered across Scotland, pledging their time and energy to address the litter that is polluting our country and there are already five events planned in Angus.
One of the organisations taking part is the award-winning East Haven Together group, based in East Haven, near Carnoustie.
Among its other community-related environmental activities, it also carries out regular beach cleans and litter picks on the coastal paths and provides bins so residents and visitors alike can keep the area tidy.
Wendy Murray, from East Haven Together, said: “We all have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent littering and to pick up litter when we see it.
“Keeping our communities clean and litter free is one of the most important things we can do.
“Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and we all need to play our part in keeping it that way.”
Earlier this year Keep Scotland Beautiful revealed 50% of Scottish adults admitted to littering in the past 12 months.
This, combined with the 88% of people who believe litter is a problem nationally, highlights the scale of the task at hand.
#SpringCleanScotland is the perfect opportunity for everyone to play their part and help address this issue collectively.
Barry Fisher, chief executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said more people are needed to help out, and he also called on MSPs and prospective MSPs to get involved.
He said: “As we launch this year’s #SpringCleanScotland I’m delighted to say we’ve already passed 10,000 registrations – but we need thousands more.
“We know how strong the appetite is for a cleaner Scotland - more than 80% of people want more done to clean up and prevent litter.
“We are calling for the next Scottish Government to do more to address litter by investing in prevention, behaviour change and enforcement and it would be fantastic to see party leaders, MSPs and prospective MSPs show their commitment to tackling litter during Spring Clean, either by organising a clean up or supporting a local event.
“While we continue to push for this, we need everyone to play their part. We all have a job to do so join a litter pick or register your own and help us keep our precious environment free from litter.”
To help raise awareness of the campaign across the country, Keep Scotland Beautiful has partnered with Citylink who have wrapped a bus with the organisation’s litter mascots to urge more people to get involved.
#SpringCleanScotland runs from until April 24. To find a clean-up event near you or register your own, visit https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/clean-up-scotland/spring-clean-scotland/ for more information.
Scotland’s largest mass litter picking event complements the work Keep Scotland Beautiful is doing to support the delivery of Scotland’s National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and inspire shifts in behaviours.