Litter remains an unsightly problem in Scotland, costing millions of pounds every year to clear. It can also prove to be a fatal attraction for wildlife
What a load of rubbish
We all enjoy the spectacular scenery and stunning landscapes for which Scotland is rightly famous. So that makes it all the more unpleasant to see the mass of discarded litter and dumped waste that blights our towns, cities and countryside.
Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) estimate that the cost of clearing litter across Scottish local authorities stands at over £100 million per year. That cost forms part of the council tax charges that we all have to pay.
Keep Scotland Beautiful run the National Spring Clean campaign every year, which encourages
people to get together and help pick up litter from their neighbourhood. Last year, more than 83,000 people across Scotland gave their time to support the campaign. Each person collected on average one and a half black bags of discarded rubbish – that’s enough to fill 42,000 standard household wheelie bins! But it’s not just people who have a problem with litter.Wildlife suffers too, with animals and birds
being cut by sharp objects such as cans or broken glass, strangled by plastic ring packaging, and choked or poisoned on plastic waste or cigarette butts. Animals can sometimes be freed back to the wild, but in many cases treatment and care is required by wildlife rescue specialists or the refuse may even cause death. Scotland’s animal welfare charity, the Scottish SPCA, regularly rescue wild animals trapped or hurt
by discarded litter. “It's horrifying to see the suffering and impact that litter can have on the welfare of wild animals,” commented Scottish SPCAWildlife Rescue Centre Manager Colin Seddon. “Litter presents a lot of risks to wildlife, including swans, seals, otters, owls, badgers, foxes and
seabirds. Some of the worst cases are never discovered until it's too late.” Keep Scotland Beautiful are urging everyone to have more pride. “Litter and dumped waste can
affect us all at some time,” commented KSB’s Suzanne Roberts, “whether it’s close to our homes or in the countryside that we visit, and it’s up to everyone to do what they can to stop it.” If you’d like to help out with this year’s National Spring Clean campaign from 14 March to 16 May, then go to
http://springclean.keepscotlandtidy.org
34 1
This hedgehog was lucky – a vet was able to remove the plastic rings without serious injury. But others have ended up being strangled in similar incidents.
The Nature of Scotland
1
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68