Tag: litter

Council Leaders’ Easter message: Stay safe, stay local and keep Edinburgh beautiful

Council Leaders are calling on Edinburgh citizens to enjoy the springtime festivities safely, considerately and locally while Covid restrictions are still in place.

Weather forecasters are predicting long spells of sunshine and mild temperatures this weekend, meaning thousands of people are expected to flock to enjoy the bank holiday weekend in the many parks and beauty spots around the Capital.

From today [Friday 2 April], Scotland’s ‘Stay at Home’ advice changes to ‘Stay Local’, as part of the national roadmap out of lockdown.

This means people can leave their homes for purposes other than work, exercise or to buy food, but there is still a restriction on travelling outwith your local authority area, unless it’s essential.

Recent media reports and social media coverage have highlighted significant amounts of litter left behind in parks such as the Meadows, where there have also been incidents involving illegal gatherings and antisocial behaviour such as public urination and toileting. 

Council waste and cleansing workers will be targeting resources in the Meadows and other popular destinations over the Easter break, with extra collections of large litter bins in targeted areas. 

The Council continues to work very closely with Police Scotland to address antisocial behaviour. Following recent incidents of antisocial behaviour and breaches of Covid restrictions in the Meadows, including on the evening of Tuesday 30 March when a large gathering was dispersed by Police Scotland, visible police patrols will continue in the area throughout the Easter period. 

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “I want to pay tribute to everyone in the city who’s worked so hard and sacrificed so much to keep themselves, their loved ones and our whole community safe through this dreadful pandemic.

“As things start to ease up, it’ll be wonderful to begin enjoying some of the things we’ve all missed so much, but we have to take things slow and steady, or we risk setting ourselves back again. 

“This Easter weekend is a great opportunity to meet up safely with friends and family, in line with the guidance. I know the vast majority of citizens will enjoy our fabulous open spaces responsibly, leaving the areas as they’d expect to find them. 

“Sadly, some people don’t always behave quite so considerately, so our sincere plea to everyone is to respect and care for our parks, beaches and greenspaces while you’re visiting them. If there’s no bin or the bin’s full awaiting one of our regular patrols to empty it, please take your litter home with you. The Council teams are working hard to keep our green spaces clean but please remember your rubbish is your responsibility.

“Remember the need to Stay Local, too – we can’t run the risk right now of the virus travelling between local authority areas. It will be safe again to travel within Scotland before too long if we all stick together and help keep the case rates down. If we stick at it and do our bit now, it won’t be long before we all reap the benefits.”

Council Depute Leader Cammy Day said: Edinburgh is an amazingly beautiful city and we’re so lucky to have so much access to nature and green spaces. So it’s really disheartening to see images of parks and beaches disfigured by litter and dog fouling – there’s absolutely no excuse for it.

“We’re urging everyone who’s planning a visit to a beauty spot this Easter weekend – or anytime, for that matter – to remember that these fantastic spaces are for every single one of us to enjoy.

“Please clean up after yourselves (and your dogs!) for the next person or family who comes along. We want to see the same community-mindedness and respect for each other’s wellbeing that shone out in Edinburgh’s response to the pandemic replicated in the way people treat our shared spaces.” 

Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander for Edinburgh, said: “The coronavirus regulations have had a significant impact on our lives and I would like to thank the vast majority of people who are sticking to the rules and doing the right thing to avoid the spread of the virus as we move through the easing of restrictions.

“People should not travel outwith their local authority area except for essential purposes. While Easter weekend is traditionally a time for visiting friends and family, I would urge people to stay local and follow the regulations on gatherings.

“If you are visiting beauty spots within your local area, do so safely and respectfully – leaving no trace of your visit. Please also park responsibly to allow emergency access.

“Our approach throughout the pandemic has been to engage with the public, explain the legislation and encourage compliance, but we will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers as a last resort.”

As well as the Stay Local change from 2 April, other adjustments to the national Covid restrictions will see garden centres, hairdressers, car dealerships, click and collect retail services and homeware stores, among others, able to reopen from 5 April. 

The Council’s own much-loved Inch Plant Nursery will reopen for plant sales from Wednesday 7 April (appointments should be booked by email). 

Information on any changes to Council services is updated regularly on our dedicated web pages at edinburgh.gov.uk/coronavirus. 

Social media messaging on litter, dog fouling and public urination will be ramped up on the Council’s social media channels throughout the Easter period, along with reminders on the changes to national guidance so people understand which measures have been relaxed or amended.

23 pieces of rubbish are dropped in the UK EVERY SECOND

New data shows 23 items of rubbish are dropped in the UK every second

Shocking data has revealed the true impact of the UK’s litter crisis, with cigarettes being the most irresponsibly disposed item.

Data found by Regatta and Keep Britain Tidy shows approximately 30% of litter in the UK is smoking-related, with a staggering 244 million cigarette butts discarded as litter.

According to Keep Britain Tidy, which exists to try to eliminate litter and end waste, two million pieces of rubbish are dropped every day across the country. This means that 23 items of rubbish are dropped every second on average.

“Due to the impact of the Coronavirus, more people than ever have gone out on walks and to explore their local green spaces. The amount of litter dropped by visitors saw local people become frustrated on social media as day-trippers left piles of rubbish lying around instead of taking it home with them,” says a spokesperson for Regatta.

However, this rubbish isn’t just ruining some of the best landscapes in the UK – it’s also having a serious impact on people and the environment.

Keep Britain Tidy recently revealed that street cleaning costs taxpayers more than £1 billion every year, showing the litter crisis isn’t just costing the planet anymore, but the public too.

Meanwhile, RSPCA announced recently they receive an average of 14 calls a day about wildlife harmed by litter, and the organisation suggests that the actual number of animals affected by rubbish is likely to be much higher.

“We all enjoy the great outdoors, and more recently with lockdown easing, people have been admiring all the UK has to offer more than ever.

“We hoped that comparing the litter crisis to one of the UK’s most loved and respected landscapes, we’d be able to encourage others to be mindful of littering and to get involved with a local clean-up event,” a spokesperson for Regatta continued.

Unmasking a looming litter emergency

Keep Scotland Beautiful: make Scotland ‘litter-ate’

Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has published a new report on Scotland’s local environmental quality highlighting an avalanche of evidence from its audits from the past two decades which points to a looming litter emergency – hidden in plain sight.

The charity is calling for eight urgent actions to make Scotland ‘litter-ate’ and is urging key stakeholders and communities to join efforts to change the way we behave to tackle unacceptable levels of litter, dog fouling, graffiti, weeds and detritus.

The report ‘Time for a new approach to tackling litter‘ highlights an accelerating decline in standards from 2013 to 2020 – with only 16% of audited sites being recorded as litter free last year compared to 31% in 2013, and dog fouling now found on 3% more streets that in 2013. In addition, results also showed a more marked decline in Scotland’s poorest neighbourhoods.

Local environmental quality standards in Scotland were already in decline before the pandemic, now nine months on, as we rely on good quality neighbourhoods for our health and wellbeing, our polling has highlighted that 30% of people believe the overall condition of their local neighbourhood deteriorated during lockdown.

Yet, despite the impact of this ‘lockdown effect’, where people have noticed an increase in the severity and prevalence of poor environmental quality, improved connections have been made with the environment and local neighbourhoods.   

And, positively, Keep Scotland Beautiful has come together with others to tackle the rise in flytipping, dog fouling and littering during a challenging year.  Building on this as we enter a new year is key to tackling the behaviours behind the looming litter emergency.

This is why the charity has outlined an eight-point cross sector agenda for change to tackle the complex interlinking problems leading to the decline.  This includes calls for an: education and behaviour change programme to create a Scotland that is truly litter-ate; a review of the failing model of enforcement; and further collaboration to bring together a reinvigorated Scottish network working together to jointly reverse the decline.


Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful said, “The increasingly visible new litter type – the single use face mask – has become a symbol of our disregard for Scotland and our fellow citizens. 

“The simple truth is that we need to all start questioning our own habits – what we consume, what we throw away, and how we look after our local neighbourhoods – and we need to address the looming litter emergency head on by changing our own behaviours and working together with key partners, to build on the successes of this year.

“We must respect and look after the places that we love if we are to have any hope of solving the global climate and nature crises. Tackling the first can help the latter. We need you to join us to make our communities, businesses and individuals truly litter-ate.”

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Our relentless consumption of materials is Scotland’s biggest contributor to the climate crisis. The extraction, manufacture and transport of materials is a huge source of carbon emissions and something we could affect by reducing our demand for single-use items.

“It is particularly upsetting that people continue to pollute our streets, parks, streams and rivers, where they continue to cause damage for months and years to come. This needs to stop and we will continue to work with Keep Scotland Beautiful and other partners to find solutions to these issues.”

Keep Scotland Beautiful is committed to continuing efforts to support communities, local authorities, businesses, and national agencies to reverse the decline in environmental quality across Scotland – from rural to urban settings – but your support is needed.  

The time to act is now.  Scotland is beautiful, and we must all commit to do more to protect and enhance the places we care for.

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Behave!

Antisocial Behaviour & Disturbances in Edinburgh

With temperatures on the rise again today Police in Edinburgh have made a public appeal for people to behave responsibly:

Last weekend saw an increase in antisocial behaviour and disorder, particularly at Portobello Beach and the Meadows. Dedicated officers will be on patrol this afternoon and over the weekend, focussing on engagement and early intervention, particularly in these areas.

Officers would like to remind the public that we still need to control the spread of Coronavirus and follow the guidelines from the Scottish Government.

Superintendent David Robertson from St Leonard’s Police Station said: “Last weekend saw small groups of individuals, intent on trouble, engage in antisocial behaviour, risking public health and disrupting the enjoyment of the Meadows and Portobello beach for those wishing to do so responsibility. Let me be clear that this behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“Officers will be on patrol in these areas this afternoon and over the weekend and will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance and encourage compliance. We will use enforcement as a last resort only where there is a clear breach of the legislation. Our ultimate aim over the weekend is to prevent further disorder.

“Officers have been specifically briefed in respect of early intervention, engagement and will make use of the Edinburgh street drinking byelaw, where it is necessary and proportionate to do so in order to prevent antisocial behaviour. As was the case last weekend, those identified as being involved in antisocial behaviour and disorder will be arrested and charged accordingly.”

“The Chief Constable has made it clear that we are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to stay safe, protect others and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading.

“Aberdeen going into lockdown is a stark reminder that the virus is still very present and posing a threat to our communities. It also underpins the importance of continuing to follow the Scottish Government guidance.”

Fire and Rescue Service: Safer Summer 2020

Staycation advice for campers

Here in Scotland, we boast some of the most stunning scenery in the UK – we’d really appreciate your help to keep it that way.

Warmer weather and the increased numbers of people visiting the countryside creates a greater risk of fire.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry said: “Camping is something that lots of people enjoy each summer in Scotland and as lockdown restrictions ease many will be eager to get outdoors and rightly enjoy the stunning countryside in which we live once again.

“We always want people to stay safe and have a good experience.

“Tents are susceptible to fire which can take hold very quickly. Using stoves or other cooking and heating equipment in tents could endanger lives not only from fire but also as a result of a build-up of Carbon Monoxide so we’d remind campers not to smoke or cook within tents and use torches instead of candles.

“If barbecuing or considering a camp fire, where these are allowed, never leave it unattended, ensure it is well away from anything to which it could spread and keep children and pets away from the cooking area. Avoid alcohol if you are in charge of preparing the food.

“Do not dispose of ashes until they are cold to the touch as hot ashes can melt a plastic bin causing fire. Wherever possible, they should always be doused with water prior to leaving them unattended. The danger of wildfire is very real in Scotland.

“An important point to remember is that even cold barbecues or fuelled appliances can still give off Carbon Monoxide for some time after use therefore they should always be kept outside.

“Gas barbecues should be used in a well ventilated area.

“Remember to keep your area tidy and always clear up litter when done. Whist we all wish to keep our country beautiful, litter can seriously injure wildlife and items such as glass bottles in strong sunlight have the potential to start a fire.

“In addition to all this, if people are spending more time outdoors near waterways please be aware of the risks around cold water shock to prevent avoidable tragedies.”

Please visit the ‘Your Safety’ section of our website for more information or visit https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/

Littlest litter pickers launch latest phase of Our Edinburgh

 

Some of the city’s littlest litter-pickers have helped spruce up a park in Dalry to kick-start the latest phase of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Our Edinburgh campaign. The class of P2 pupils from Dalry Primary School donned brightly-coloured tabards and joined environmental wardens to learn about the effects of litter-dropping on the area yesterday. Continue reading Littlest litter pickers launch latest phase of Our Edinburgh