West Lothian supports Great British Clean up
West Lothian Council is joining other organisations such as Keep Scotland Beautiful in supporting The Great British September Clean.
The campaign takes place from 11 - 27 September 2020 and aims to encourage small, local actions to tackle issues with litter.
Keep Scotland Beautiful plan to keep the message simple by focussing on community led action via newly established community hubs and already empowered groups.
The 11 new 'Community Hubs' across Scotland have been set up to enable communities and individuals with their efforts to tackle lockdown litter. The 'hubs' will be active, experienced, community groups that will have been provided with guidance and equipment to support themselves and other groups and individuals take action locally.
Whilst there are only 11 at the moment this is a trial it is hoped that if the model works then the number of groups can be increased.
For further information on the hubs and how your group could potentially be registered as one can be found online: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/news/sep-2020/litter-picking-community-hubs-set-up/
Individuals looking to support the campaign are encouraged to:
- Organise private events within their local neighbourhoods
- Ask for individuals and households to pledge to pick up when they're already out - there will be a call out for people to give us this information retrospectively too.
- Make your litter pick count and do a litter survey to help Keep Scotland Beautiful and partners create a snapshot of litter in Scotland.
Any one taking part in a litter pick is reminded to please ensure that they are keeping in line with the latest national guidance relating to the coronavirus outbreak. You can find the latest guidance for group litter picks via the Keep Scotland Beautiful website: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/media/1565937/group-litter-picking-guidance-and-faqs.pdf
Executive councillor for the environment, Tom Conn said: "Littering is never acceptable regardless of the circumstance. This message never changes and tackling litter remains a key priority in West Lothian and is a responsibility for every single one of us. We are pleased to support this campaign and I would encourage anyone who wishes to take join to please ensure they are following the latest national guidance."
