Dundee is leading the charge on litter prevention in Scotland, after it was today (Thursday 28 September 2017) revealed as the first city or town where a group of organisations and businesses have committed to work together and take key actions to prevent litter spoiling the local area.
An impressive roll call of organisations have signed up to Zero Waste Scotland’s Litter Prevention Action Plans initiative to work together on a city-wide preventative approach to tackling litter, including: the Overgate Centre, McDonalds, Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Caledonia Housing Association, Stagecoach Strathtay, Dundee Science Centre, University of Dundee, University of Abertay, Asda, Clarks on Lindsay Street, Coffee & Co, Greggs, HMS Unicorn, Broughty Ferry Beach Management Group, Bonnie Dundee and the Marine Conservation Society.
Key actions agreed by the organisations include: providing suitable facilities and infrastructure, supporting staff to participate in community-led initiatives which aim to prevent litter and flytipping, reporting infrastructure issues and litter hotspots and promoting litter and flytipping prevention activity with staff and customers.
Announced at SRC 2017
The news, announced at the Scottish Resources Conference in Edinburgh where Dundee’s work is being showcased, follows a nationwide call last month for organisations across the public, private and third sector to get involved in the scheme, to lead their communities in the fight against litter and flytipping by. It’s part of nationwide efforts to change behaviour and attitudes towards dropping litter.
Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, said: “Dundee is the first city in Scotland where local organisations have come together to form a litter action plan that focuses on prevention and takes the lead on tackling an issue which profoundly affects people’s quality of life. I would encourage other towns and cities to follow Dundee’s example.”
Iain Gulland, Chief executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Litter is a big problem which costs the public purse £50million a year to clean up. Our research shows focusing on prevention is essential if we are to tackle this issue at the source and help save some of this huge bill. Dundee City Council, together with local organisations and businesses have shown they’re determined to take a proactive approach to the issue, and I hugely commend them for it. We are talking to other towns and cities in Scotland who want to follow Dundee’s lead in taking a community-wide, locally relevant approach and we look forward to working with many more.”
Dundee City Council neighbourhood services convener Councillor Kevin Cordell, said: “I am proud that Dundee is taking the lead with a proactive partnership approach designed to prevent litter from blighting our streets and open spaces.
“Our long term Take Pride in Your City Campaign has already promoted a positive community stance towards litter prevention and these action plans help to further boost this approach with a strong call to action.
“We must all work together to educate and inform people about the cost of litter and actually how cheap it is to stop the problem by simply using the appropriate bin.”
Organisations across the public, private and third sector in Scotland are being invited to lead their communities in the fight against litter and flytipping by developing the Litter Prevention Action Plans as part of nationwide efforts to change behaviour and attitudes towards dropping litter.
Participants will receive support from Zero Waste Scotland to identify the litter prevention actions that make up their action plans. Actions could be as simple as putting posters up in windows to discourage customers from littering, storing waste correctly, including litter prevention messages in staff inductions, and making sure any external areas of an organisation’s premises are cleared of litter.
