Three localised campaigns to tackle roadside litter

Ninety-one per cent of people agree that roadside litter creates a negative impression of Scotland. 

As part of our work to support the Scottish Government's National Litter and Flytipping Strategy we have partnered with Scottish Borders Council, East Lothian Council, West Lothian Council, Falkirk Council, Dundee Council, BEAR Scotland, Transport Scotland, Berwickshire Anti-Litter Group and McDonald’s to deploy three local campaigns, including billboards, posters and bin wraps, to raise awareness of and curb the issue of roadside litter.

More than half of people surveyed agreed that there is more roadside litter in Scotland than there was 12 months ago – to these local campaigns will build on previous work to encourage drivers to bin their litter responsibly or take it home.

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said: "Roadside litter is completely preventable - and I welcome the ongoing interventions by Keep Scotland Beautiful and their partners to tackle roadside litter in these areas - for the benefit of all road users and our environment.

"As set out in our National Litter and Flytipping Strategy Year 3 Action Plan, published earlier this week, we have also committed to progressing work to introduce a civil penalty for littering from vehicles to improve enforcement and to act as a deterrent to those who litter from vehicles."

Barry Fisher, our Chief Executive, said: “Roadside litter is a huge problem: it damages Scotland’s reputation, it’s ugly, dangerous and expensive to clean up.

“We have campaigned to reduce roadside litter for years but it’s clear that more still needs to be done.

“The introduction of the littering from vehicles provision in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act will be a useful tool to tackle roadside litter but it is critical we also address the root cause of roadside litter by rethinking our consumption habits and changing the behaviours that are our polluting our environment.

“The message is simple: bin your litter responsibly or take it home. There is no excuse for roadside litter.”

Read more about our previous roadside intervention here.