Nine in ten people in Scotland believe that litter is an issue across the country, an opinion that has continually grown for the past three years.
Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful this week published two new reports – the Scottish Litter Survey, a public perception snapshot conducted by the Diffley Partnership and a ground litter report.
They both reveal the depth and breadth of what the charity calls Scotland’s litter emergency.
The Scottish Litter Survey confirmed that 90% of those asked believe litter was a problem across the country – the highest number since the research began.
And the latest ground litter report revealed that litter levels continue to significantly impact the cleanliness of our streets and roads, with 75% of sites being littered while one in ten were observed to have a significant presence adversely affecting the cleanliness of the area.
Almost two fifths (39%) believe that litter in general has become more common in their area in the past year.
This perception is more pronounced in the least affluent neighbourhoods – a figure backed up by our ground litter data which highlights that litter levels are more significant in the least affluent areas.
Furthermore, 27% of sites recorded a presence of litter that would be recoverable under a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and 40% of sites recorded litter covered under current Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and the proposals in Scotland for ground litter.
Barry Fisher, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Scotland is facing a litter emergency – and there is consistent recognition of this annually.
“The data we’ve published today only strengthens the need for positive and imminent change across all areas, from innovative behaviour change interventions, to bin provision and servicing, to enforcement and the speedy introduction of policies which we urgently need to ensure our country has a more circular economy.
“We can’t keep saying that there is a problem. We need to ensure we reverse the trend with consistent, collective action.
“The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and Action Plan launched earlier this year are vital and a positive step in the right direction.
“We remain committed to supporting the Strategy and are already seeing shifts as communities, businesses and industry step up to play their part.
“But if we are serious about tackling this issue adequate and meaningful resourcing is needed alongside the implementation of delayed policy and proposed schemes.”
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