Working together with North Lanarkshire Council

We’re delighted to share a report of our collaboration with North Lanarkshire Council to encourage and facilitate practical, local action to improve the standard of local environmental quality.

Our work with the council and volunteers from communities across North Lanarkshire has been a great success thanks to the encouragement, targeted support, and recognition communities were given.

Some highlights of the collaboration include:

• Number of active community Clean Up Hubs rising from one to 20
• More people litter picking in 2023 than in the past five years combined
• 132 bags of litter removed from Seafar Woods
• An estimated 3,730 Spring Clean volunteer hours

A key aim of the partnership was building capability and capacity within local communities to play a more proactive role in tackling local environmental quality issues. By developing the network of Community Clean Up Hubs, there is now more access to equipment for litter picking, as well as a support system for volunteers.

Furthermore, more proactive use of our Clean Up Scotland online members site now means efforts are not duplicated and the impact of clean-up activities are extended.

Barry Fisher, our Chief Executive, said: “Collaboration between local councils and community groups will be crucial in tackling Scotland’s litter emergency, as set out in the recently published National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.

“Our evidence how big the public’s desire is to tackle this litter emergency and now, more than ever, we have to be there to encourage and support partnership between community groups, local councils and businesses.

“We are thrilled to work with North Lanarkshire Council to ensure that those who wish to improve their local area have the resources they need. I’d like to thank our supporters who made this possible and look forward to seeing even more positive results in the future.”

Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee at North Lanarkshire Council, said: “I would like to thank the many community groups, individuals and schools who set up and use one of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Community Clean Up Hubs, take part in a litter pick and give their time to help keep North Lanarkshire clean and safe for everyone.

“We are launching a new campaign to ask more residents to work with us to keep our streets clear of litter, dog fouling, graffiti and fly tipping. By taking small actions, like putting litter in a bin or taking it home, and working together, we can ensure North Lanarkshire is a clean, pleasant place to live, learn, work, invest and visit.”

We look forward to continuing to work with North Lanarkshire Council and other local authorities across the country, alongside their communities, as we continue to work towards our vision of a clean, green and sustainable Scotland.

If you would like to know more about working with us to keep Scotland beautiful, please get in touch.