Communities across Scotland joined Spring Clean 2022

Our annual Spring Clean challenge came to an end on 21 April – thank you to the volunteers from up and down Scotland who turned out to clean up the country.

Thousands of volunteers rolled their sleeves up, grabbed their gloves and litter pickers, and joined in 103 events up and down Scotland, pledging bags through our website.

Spring Clean 2022 was organised by us in association with the Great British Spring Clean. It was launched by Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater on 18 March, with support from Historic Environment Scotland, at the iconic Blackness Castle in Linlithgow, encouraging everyone to reduce litter and help protect Scotland’s neighbourhoods and heritage.

Young people feel strongly about caring for the environment and want to do something about the harmful effects of litter, so as part of Spring Clean we led our first Live Lesson on the subject. Open to all schools, our Eco-Schools Scotland team were joined by Scottish SPCA and Auchindrain Historic Township to run a morning of workshops on 21 March followed by an assembly to celebrate pupil’s work on 25 March. A total of 485 Scottish classes from across the country took part, with additional classes joining from across the UK. The Live Lessons reached over 12,000 pupils.  

During the four weeks of litter-busting action, individuals, schools, community groups and businesses all got involved. Businesses including the Wheatley Partnership and BAE Systems stepped up to support Spring Clean, organising activities such as clean ups from local litter hubs in North and South Lanarkshire and Govan.

Our Chief Executive, Barry Fisher, said, “Our latest research revealed that 88% of Scots agree that litter is a problem across Scotland. And 70% are concerned about litter in their area. Spring Clean was the perfect opportunity for communities to get together and do something about it, especially after lockdown, and it’s really encouraging to see how many people volunteered and cleaned up their local beaches, streets, parks and beyond. Every single bag of litter picked up makes a difference, and I would like to thank every single person (and dog) who contributed to helping keep Scotland beautiful this Spring.”

Just half an hour of picking up litter and disposing of it safely can help an area look cleaner and feel safer, and evidence shows it also prevents more litter being dropped. You can still get involved with our year-round clean up. Why not organise a litter pick with friends, family, workmates or your wider community? Or find one to join in with on the charity’s Clean Up Scotland map. https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/clean-up-scotland/clean-up-scotland-map/