50 tonnes of litter are discarded on Scotland’s roadsides every month
Manky motorists are burying Scotland’s roadsides under a mountain of rubbish.
Now, in response to recent polling, which found that almost 100% of the public believe that litter is creating a negative impression of Scotland, an environmental charity is stepping up its campaign to shame the country’s dirty drivers.
Keep Scotland Beautiful says 50 tonnes of litter are discarded on Scotland’s roadsides every month with almost all main roads affected.
With almost 65% of people feeling that not enough action is being taken to reduce roadside litter, Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) is calling for a change in driver behaviour to reverse these trends.
With research revealing that over half of the litter on our roads comes from people eating and drinking in their car, the charity is clear that responsibility lies with drivers and it is down to them to do the right thing and dispose of their rubbish appropriately.
KSB has been working since 2016 to help address roadside litter, through a combination of awareness-raising with its “give your litter a lift” campaign and various infrastructure interventions.
In this time there has been a 17% increase in awareness of roadside litter as a problem among Scottish adults.
Derek Robertson, KSB’s chief executive, said: “All across Scotland we are seeing a significant increase in the amount of litter lying at our roadsides. We are working on all fronts to address this, but it is essential that everyone plays their part. With only 16% of people thinking that enough is being done to reduce roadside litter, it is time that Scotland pulled together to eradicate this unnecessary strain on local and government resource.
“Every single piece of litter left at Scotland’s roadsides was discarded by a thoughtless individual. Unless the Scottish Government takes action to improve enforcement, and unless drivers ultimately change their behaviour, beautiful Scotland will be buried under roadside litter.”
With 47 partners on board from across the transport, tourism and service industries, the campaign has helped to bring forward a number of innovative infrastructure solutions such as the specially-designed Tuben funnel bins from Denmark, some of which are already in operation along the North Coast 500 route in the Highlands, with support from Highland Spring.
Going forward, phase two of the campaign will bring more focus to the true culprits of Scotland’s roadside litter problem - those who throw it - with interventions aimed at a number of target road-user groups.
The charity is also calling on the Scottish Government to make necessary improvements to litter legislation that will make it easier to enforce penalties and fines against those littering from vehicles.
