Charity launches Big Spring Clean Up to improve the Highlands' neighbourhoods and countryside

The independent environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, which runs the Clean Up Scotland Campaign, is calling on all people in the Highlands to do their bit to clean up their community ahead of Scotland’s summer of sport.

With an unprecedented number of visitors due to come to Scotland this year for the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, Clean Up Scotland has launched its ‘Big Spring Clean Up’ to encourage everyone living here to make Scotland look its best for us all - including tourists who may visit the Highlands during their travels.
In the longer term, the campaign aims to make Scotland the cleanest country in Europe by 2020.

The Big Spring Clean Up, starting in April, will bring together businesses, schools, community groups and individuals with the common purpose of improving their local environment. There will be focussed events in communities around Scotland and a special emphasis around the 10th May, which is ‘Let’s Clean Up Europe’ day. This is an important initiative to do something practical about our environments.

Already people living throughout Scotland have achieved a huge amount through the Campaign, over 246,000 people have volunteered, 3000 tonnes of litter have been removed and over a hundred groups have come together to take part in planting, local improvement and regeneration of urban spaces.

Keep Scotland Beautiful’s own research has identified that almost 70% of people in the HIghlands and Islands have witnessed someone else dropping litter in the previous three months, showing that there is much still to do.

Mark Bevan, Clean Up Scotland Campaign Director, said: “The eyes of the world are watching Scotland this year, and we want them to see a country free from neglect and litter.

“Without the commitment of the volunteers who take part in the Clean Ups every year, the Highlands would definitely be a more neglected and dirty place. We want local people to muster their civic pride and participate in the Big Spring Clean Up to make the Highlands and the whole of Scotland a better place to live and visit.

“Almost 120,000 people took part during April and May last year, but to really make a significant impact we need more people to take a pride in their favourite part of Scotland and register with us for support of their Clean Up. Together, in a united, national effort we will keep Scotland beautiful for ourselves and our visitors.”

Highland residents can take part in the Big Spring Clean Up by:

  • Registering a Clean Up of your local community with friends and family, work colleagues or your community group on the ‘Register your event’ page at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/register
  • Finding a Clean Up event in your area to participate in on the ‘Events’ page at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/cleanupscotland
  • Taking the Clean Up Scotland pledge at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/pledge
  • To help groups get started, Keep Scotland Beautiful provides group organisers with free Clean Up kits, and they can also request additional assistance from their local council – all of which have backed the campaign.

ENDS

24 Feb 2014