Working together to keep Scotland beautiful

Litter levels in Scotland and across the globe are impacting our environment, the one we rely on to ensure we have healthy minds and bodies.  So, employees of international sports retailer - Decathlon – joined forces with environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful and organised a litter picking event at Sighthill Park, Edinburgh, to make a positive difference near its store.

Our country provides so many opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy, exercise in and recharge their minds.  But, litter levels are on the increase, with 88% of Scots agreeing that litter is a problem across the country, and creates a negative impression of the area.

Members of the community, including volunteers from Ismaili Civic joined Decathlon employees and Keep Scotland Beautiful on Saturday 24 September– ahead of #ScotClimateWeek - and removed 50 bags of litter, plus various broken chairs, a rusty bike frame and a garden bbq.

Since the launch of Clean Up Hubs, by Keep Scotland Beautiful, two years ago, the network has continued to grow with currently 94 hubs spread across 29 local authority areas. The Decathlon store in Braehead has recently launched a hub and is encouraging employees and the local community it borrow the kit and make a difference.

Shamsah Allibhoy, from Ismaili CIVIC, commented, “We were very happy to join Keep Scotland Beautiful for our Global Ismaili CIVIC Day in Edinburgh. We regularly see documentaries about how humans are careless with their actions when it comes to littering. Seeing it first-hand is an eye opener! We were glad that as part of Ismaili CIVIC efforts and Keep Scotland Beautiful, we contributed to cleaning up a local area for the benefit of the regular users of lovely Sighthill Park."  

Decathlon store manager Enrique Guijarro said, “To be useful for the people and to their planet" is our purpose as a company.  For us here in the Decathlon Edinburgh team, that translates into supporting our local community through simple acts such as contributing to the sustainability of our local playgrounds. Partnering up with Keep Scotland Beautiful on this litter picking is a great example of how we can try to make a small difference.  We hope to join them again in the future, our teammates really enjoyed it.” 

Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful said, “I’d like to say a massive thank you to all those Decathlon employees who rolled up their sleeves and played an active part in cleaning up Sighthill Park alongside members of the local community.

“Litter picks like this bring people together to tackle the looming litter emergency in their communities, but this action also contributes to a global movement to remove litter from our environment.

“A litter pick can also help people understand the scale of the issue and make links between litter and the unsustainable use of resources which is driving the climate crisis, as exemplified by the multitudes of disposable items which are used just once before being carelessly discarded as litter. Collectively we can tackle this issue.”

Decathlon employees and local volunteers also cleared 48 bags of litter from Durrockstock Park in Foxbar, Paisley on Saturday 17 September.

If you would like to support Clean Up Scotland and organise a litter pick, or borrow equipment from a Clean Up Hub near you check out www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/cleanupscotland