Huge amounts of have litter have been found carpeting the banks of the River Clyde at Glasgow Green as shameful new photos reveal.
Metal drinks cans, plastic bottles and other drinks containers are amongst some of the most common items discovered by teams fighting to control the issue.
Joining forces at Glasgow Green this week, the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, the Marine Conservation Society, and Paws on Plastic are trying to highlight the extent of litter in our towns and countryside.
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This event was part of the Deposit Return Litter Survey which has logged over 10,000 items from 123 surveys. The most commonly found item in the surveys so far has been metal drinks cans (29%) followed by plastic drinks bottles (27%). Overall, drinks containers made up nearly two-thirds (64%) of the items found.
The Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch report also revealed that drinks-related litter was found in 95% of their beach surveys.
Paws for Plastic founder Marion Montgomery said: “With over 13.5 million dogs in the UK alone, imagine the positive impact if we all got involved. So many animals, including dogs, are hurt by litter, so we remove it to protect them. We hope that the deposit return will result in fewer people dropping litter, and so reducing the amount of potentially harmful litter, including glass, being dropped.”
Kirsty Crawford, Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager for Scotland at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “Our Source to Sea citizen science project is a great way for volunteers to report the litter that they find and helps to create real change to better protect our ocean. The project combines litter picking and data collection and can be done by anyone, anywhere. Together with APRS and Paws for Plastic, we're using the results to collect evidence on drinks-related litter items for upcoming Deposit Return Schemes.”
The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) aims is to reduce the huge amount of waste produced by drinks manufacturers, much of which finds its way as litter into our towns, countryside and rivers.
Jo McFarlane, Public Engagement and Education Manager at APRS, said: “The initial results of our litter survey show that nearly two-thirds of littered items are drinks containers. This shows how important it is for Ministers to keep to their promises and bring in the deposit return scheme. In countries with deposit return, drinks-related litter is almost unheard of. Deposit return cannot come soon enough.
“APRS are still looking for volunteers to help with our citizen science surveys, which will help show the difference that deposit return will make to levels of litter. Our plan is to run it for a year after the start of deposit return and see how much has changed in our streets and green spaces. If you want to take part please get in touch with us.”
Ann-Marie Yates of Trails and Tails said: “I have picked up litter with my dog on land and by the sea for many years and it has really brought home to me how many bottles are discarded. Just recycling plastic bottles will have a massive impact on the environment we live in.“Deposit return schemes are the way forward. Encouraging people to recycle their metal drinks cans, plastic and glass bottles and discouraging people from throwing away items is the easiest win win.”
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