Fighting litter from #Source2Sea with AtkinsRealis

Employees from AtkinsRealis joined #TeamKSB members on Monday to litter pick and survey along the Broomielaw as part of Upstream Battle.

Five members of the engineering and construction company managed to carry out six litter surveys and collected five bags of rubbish as they surveyed along the river Clyde in the city centre of Glasgow.

The day began at 10AM when members of our campaigns team, Fiona and Natalia, briefed members of Atkins Realis in their city centre office on what the day would entail. They were supplied with litter pickers, bin bags, surveying kit and split into two groups.

Surveying began at the Tradeston Bridge with one group going in either direction and covering 300 meters each, finishing at the Kingston Bridge and the Grosvenor Casino respectively.  

Amongst the more commonly littered items such as cigarette butts, plastic bags and bottles, two and a half pairs of shoes and two road signs were also found as they surveyed.

More than 80% of marine litter starts its life on land, so our Upstream Battle campaign is focused on fighting marine litter at its source before it has a chance to make its way into our rivers. Our aim is to have 150 marine litter surveys by the end of the campaign in March.

Our Campaigns Officer Fiona Gallie said: "Tackling litter is everyone's responsibility, so it was great to be able to work with a business in Glasgow as part of our Upstream Battle Campaign. The campaign was launched on the Clyde in 2018 so the surveys collected will add to our growing national data-set.

More than 80% of people in Scotland are worried about the damage litter may do to the natural environment and animals so we want to encourage, support and help businesses and communities to get involved and help tackle this issue."

Our Upstream Battle Week of Action will be taking place from 20 to 28 January.