Category: News

Did you know that local authorities spend £100 million every year cleaning up after us? Every bit of litter not put in a bin is a cost to everyone.

You might not think it when you see it but there are financial consequences to litter. Tourism is worth over £4bn a year to Scotland with over 90% of tourists citing scenery as the main reason for their visit – every tourist who won’t come back because of litter and mess basically costs us all money. We get our own share of tourists in this part of the world taking part in the whisky trail to Glenkinchie.

Householders and land owners spend huge sums clearing mess from their own properties. And local authorities spend £100m of your money on street cleansing every year.

But small actions can make a big difference, and save us millions. Concern about this goes right to the top of Government. Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, says, “action must be taken now against Scotland’s litter problem. It is a poor advertisement for our country, which should instead be recognised for its clean air and unspoilt landscapes.” Together we can make a difference.

Come to your Litter Pick

As with past years the Litter Pick action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council.

Why a Litter Pick?

Scotland has a litter problem. Take a look the next time you walk outside and you’ll be hard pushed to miss it. Cigarette butts, takeaway wrappers, crisp bags, cans and cartons, newspapers, ATM slips, chewing gum. You name it, and it’s on our streets and motorways, in our parks and our lochs, up our mountains, on our beaches and on your doorstep!

Our local Council does a pretty good job keeping on top of the bulk of our rubbish but the fact is that if we want to live in an attractive village it’s down to all of us to keep it that way. We can’t always rely on someone else to come along and clean up the mess for us. If each of us picks up just one item of rubbish blowing around our streets each day, it will help keep on top of a perennial problem.

We are fortunate in Pencaitland in generally having responsible pet owners who clear up after their dogs.

However, sometimes doggy deposits do make it onto our local pavements and paths. Owners can get free poop scoop bags from the local Post Office and then pop it into one of the public bins.

It’s a dog’s life

There are between 6.5 and 7.4 million dogs in the UK, producing a hard-to-believe 1,000 tonnes of poo per day. It has been estimated that, in a ten year life span, the average dog produces a half tonne of waste!

In recent research into public attitudes to littering carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful, 69 percent of people rated dog fouling as the item on our streets, parks and beaches that bothered them most, with 13 percent of the people blaming dog owners for the problem.

The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force in 2003 which empowers police officers and authorised local authority officers to issue fixed penalty notices. A Fixed Penalty Fine for not picking up after a dog starts at £40, rising to £60. If the fine is not paid, owners can be convicted and end up paying up to £500. Probably not worth it for the cost of a free poop scoop bag from the Post Office!

The Dogs Trust and Keep Scotland Beautiful jointly promote National Poop Scoop Week throughout Scotland each summer.

As ever, East Lothian Council has its own small team of Dog Wardens with plenty of information to be found here.

Come to your Litter Pick

As with past years the Litter Pick action kicks off from 2pm in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall. Groups or families turning up will be given litter pickers and bags before heading off to various parts of, not only Pencaitland, but hopefully some of the other areas covered by the Community Council.

Why a Litter Pick?

Scotland has a litter problem. Take a look the next time you walk outside and you’ll be hard pushed to miss it. Cigarette butts, takeaway wrappers, crisp bags, cans and cartons, newspapers, ATM slips, chewing gum. You name it, and it’s on our streets and motorways, in our parks and our lochs, up our mountains, on our beaches and on your doorstep!

Our local Council does a pretty good job keeping on top of the bulk of our rubbish but the fact is that if we want to live in an attractive village it’s down to all of us to keep it that way. We can’t always rely on someone else to come along and clean up the mess for us. If each of us picks up just one item of rubbish blowing around our streets each day, it will help keep on top of a perennial problem.