Let's put roadside litter in the rear-view mirror
21 May 2025
More than half of people in Scotland believe that there is more roadside litter across the country than there was 12 months ago.
Eighty-eight per cent think roadside litter is a problem, rising from 69% in 2016.
There is no doubt Scotland has a huge issue with roadside litter. It's damaging Scotland's reputation, with more than 90% agreeing it creates a negative impression of our beautiful country.
This is not a new problem, and it's not something that has caught us by surprise. We ran a national campaign from 2016 to 2019 to raise awareness and encourage positive behaviour change. Despite this and other activity, only 11% of people believe enough is being done to address the issue.
We welcomed the passing of the The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act in 2024 with its powers to strengthen enforcement in tackling roadside litter. The Act includes a provision establishing a new civil penalty system whereby the registered keeper of a vehicle would be held liable to pay a civil penalty charge if a littering offence is committed by anyone in that vehicle.
While we wait for these powers to come into force we took the opportunity, as part of our commitment to supporting the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, to review and test our previous campaign materials with a new audience.
Working in partnership with Perth and Kinross Council and aiming to raise awareness and reduce litter generated by drivers on the A9, our objectives included re-engaging the public on the issue of roadside litter, updating the design of roadside litter campaign materials, gathering new urban and rural data and raising awareness of food on-the-go related litter.
The results, found in our latest report, summarises our national data and evidence from audits and public polling which confirms that roadside litter is still a significant issue.
Barry Fisher, our Chief Executive, said: "Roadside litter is persistent and complex, and won't be solved overnight.
"We know the cost of litter to Scotland, and we know the damage roadside litter is causing to our environment and our reputation.
"We have identified three strands of action needed to make an impact on roadside litter by 2030. To do so we need a collaborative coalition of organisations, more interventions and message testing and an increased knowledge and partnership working between coalition members and communities being impacted by roadside litter.
"In the meantime we will continue to support the Scottish Government's National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and use what we have learned to roll out more roadside litter campaigns at sites across Scotland throughout the next financial year."
