Tag: litter campaign

Bin man turned drag queen adds sparkle to Edinburgh streets

As Edinburgh enters its busiest summer festival season since the Covid pandemic, a Cheshire bin man has brought his extravagant performance to the capital to support keeping the streets clean.

To celebrate (?) the City of Edinburgh Council announcing the deployment of additional waste and cleansing resources over August in the city centre, Joe Leather treated Council Leader Cammy Day, cleansing staff and passers-by to a lively performance yesterday.

And Joe was very vocal in getting behind the message ‘bin your litter or take it home with you’ to make sure the world’s festival city is kept looking its best for residents, businesses and visitors this summer.

An additional team of 15 cleansing staff are now out in force targeting the busiest streets in the city centre each day. The 350 litter bins across the city centre will continue to be emptied overnight and there will also be a dedicated vehicle with cleansing crew emptying litter bins during the day.

In addition to this, an extra four waste vehicles will be out clearing up any areas where waste has built up and extra litter bins have been placed in busy ‘hot spot’ areas at Cockburn Street, High Street and the top of the Mound.

The Council also works with Out of Hand to make sure areas in the city centre outside the pedestrianised section of the High Street, looked after by the Fringe, has managed advertising space and is kept clear of fliers and other litter.

Alongside this, temporary changes have been made to some road layouts in the Old Town to create a safer, more inviting atmosphere for residents and visitors. By making it easier and safer to walk, wheel and cycle on key streets in the area during the busy festival period this will reduce pressure caused by increased footfall. This builds on the successful pedestrianisation of Cockburn Street and Victoria Street as part of Travelling Safely.

This year the Council has also brought back the popular ‘We’ll bin our jokes, if you bin your litter’ campaign, which urges residents and visitors to help keep the Capital city in shape.

Council Leader Cammy Day said: “It was great to meet Joe and get a sneak preview of one of the acts which will bring colour and culture to the streets of the Capital in the coming weeks as the festival season gets into full swing.

“This is our first restriction-free summer festival season since the Covid pandemic and there’s already a fantastic buzz building across Edinburgh. We’re also hosting a leg of the UCI World Championships road race and with all this activity it will be great to see residents and visitors out and about, soaking up the sights and sounds, and maybe some sun!

“That’s why we’re deploying extra waste and cleansing staff and I’d like to thank them as well as those from the Fringe, Out of Hand and other partners who will be working tirelessly in the background day and night to make sure Edinburgh continues to look its best. It’s important to recognise that we all have a part to play in keeping Edinburgh clean and I would ask you all to take pride in your city by binning your litter or taking it home.

“If you’ve larger items always remember to use our special uplift service or book an appointment at one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres to dispose of your waste responsibly. And if the weather improves and you’re out enjoying the sunshine and having a barbecue, please remember to protect the grass in our parks and other open spaces.”

Schoolchildren enter competition to inspire drivers to stop littering

School children in the South East of Scotland have unleashed their artistic side through a competition to inspire drivers to stop littering along the roadside.

BEAR Scotland, which manages the trunk roads in the South East on behalf of Transport Scotland, organised the ‘Trunk not Junk’ schools litter competition to coincide with this year’s ‘Keep Scotland Beautiful’ Spring Clean campaign. Over 650 primary schools were invited to submit a poster, slogan, song or rap encouraging people not to litter on Scotland’s trunk roads.

The road maintenance company revealed a surprise twist by announcing two winners of its competition, which aimed to get schoolchildren to think about the issues that litter can cause.

Indira Williams aged 11, a P6 pupil at Roslin Primary School, became one of the winners after impressing BEAR Scotland with her ‘What a sin, not to bin’ poster, which highlights the effect that littering can have on local wildlife and the environment.

Colin Burt, P6 teacher at Roslin Primary School, said: “We were delighted to be invited by our school Eco Committee to participate in the Trunk Not Junk schools litter competition.

“Our Roslin learners are passionate about environmental issues, so they were keen to be involved in raising awareness around this important subject.

“We are so proud of Indira’s winning entry and look forward to seeing it being used soon as part of the campaign.”

Primary 6 pupils at Colinton Primary School went further, writing and recording a rap titled ‘Litter is a no, no, no’ .

The rap includes lines such as ‘see it at the roadside that’s a no, no, no – stop throwing rubbish out of your window’, to make it clear that littering is socially unacceptable and to emphasise issues that can arise from dropping litter, including how long it can take to disintegrate.

The rap also gives helpful tips to keep the environment clean including using a reusable bag.

Rachel Billes, P6 teacher at Colinton Primary School, said: “We had so much fun participating in this project and the children really enjoyed unleashing their creativity to help raise awareness of this important issue.

“It’s essential that we teach children about looking after the environment from a young age so that they understand the impact they can make.”

In 2021, BEAR Scotland collected over 5,000 large black bags of litter and 2,200 large objects on the roadsides in the South-East which it is responsible for litter-picking on. If laid out in a line this would stretch to over 3.6km or over two miles of litter.

BEAR Scotland litter picks the motorways and dual carriageways on the SE trunk road network on a rotating basis weekly with hot spot areas treated twice monthly or as and when required. All other roads are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

Iain Murray, Managing Director at BEAR Scotland, said: “Every entry that we received sparked joy in the team – we loved to see the children’s creativity as they helped us get this message across. It was so hard to choose just one winner!

“It’s of paramount importance that we teach children about the negative impact of dropping litter. They’re also powerful in encouraging others to dispose of rubbish properly.

“Dropping litter at the roadside is sadly still a huge issue up and down the country but we’re confident that the efforts of the school children at winning schools, Colinton and Roslin Primary Schools, will help to inspire drivers to take their rubbish home.” 

Both winning entries will appear on BEAR Scotland’s social media channels, and the winners will receive certificates as well as £75 worth of amazon vouchers for their classroom.