It has been just awful. We have now started to dread the sunny days

Experts warn of health risk as country is buried beneath litter

When lockdown restrictions began to ease, Wendy Murray and her fellow community volunteers noticed a dramatic increase in littering across their small village. Visitors flocked to the coast in East Haven, near Dundee, and left behind all manner of waste and debris, which Wendy, and other members of charity East Haven Together, was forced to clear away. She explained: “When we moved into lockdown, there was a notable improvement in roadside litter because we weren’t getting items, such are takeaway boxes, being thrown out of vehicles. It was encouraging, and we all thought it was going to be a real turning point.

“But then we began to notice the food-related litter was being replaced with PPE. People were throwing away blue gloves and masks, which was quite alarming.”

At the end of May, when lockdown phase one was introduced and the temperatures soared, Wendy says large groups of visitors arrived at East Haven beach and left behind enough rubbish to fill 30 black bin bags. She continued: “It wasn’t just East Haven, it was happening all up the coast, but I think smaller communities have been particularly impacted.” “We found that large groups of people came, bringing huge amounts of food and drink with them, before literally leaving everything behind when they left. It was just awful.

“Plus, no public toilets are open, so people have been urinating and defecating whenever and wherever. Sanitation and hygiene has been a real problem. Now, we absolutely dread warm days.” She added: “In normal times, we’re never faced with this, it’s completely new. If we don’t get a grip, it’s just going to continue to escalate. It’s threatening the very thing which is so important to Scotland

– our beautiful landscape.”