Bin Nevis! 110lb of rubbish dumped on peak in 5 weeks
‘Human waste and clothing’
IT has been swamped by visitors since the easing of lockdown.
But Britain’s highest mountain has been left strewn with 110lb of rubbish within five weeks of hill walkers returning to scale the peak.
Volunteers from The John Muir Trust (JMT), which owns part of 4,413ft Ben Nevis, have been picking up the litter.
The 110lb of rubbish found on the mountain since lockdown was eased is almost half the amount volunteers find on their annual clean-up.
Last October more than 250lb of rubbish was cleared from the area during the yearly weekend clean-up event.
Nathan Berrie, JMT Nevis conservation officer, said Covid-19 had delayed volunteer work on the mountain.
He added: ‘With the easing of lockdown travel restrictions, many people are venturing to the Nevis area to take their first deep gulp of the fresh Highland air after months of staying at home.’
But he said that while it has been ‘fantastic welcoming so many new faces to the area’, the sudden rise in visitor numbers ‘brings several challenges’.
Mr Berrie added: ‘In previous summer seasons we have had the help of our fantastic volunteers to do various tasks around Nevis, mainly Ben Nevis litter picking. ‘Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, hosting volunteering opportunities has not been possible.
‘However, we are now able to take the first steps towards positive actions for the outdoors by trialling working with volunteers back on Ben Nevis.’
Before lockdown, Ben Nevis drew more than 160,000 walkers and climbers a year.
Volunteers from the Friends of Nevis charity have also been involved in the most recent efforts, removing four large bags of rubbish ‘ranging from human waste, items of clothing and food containers to fresh discarded food’.
When the Real Three Peaks challenge event started in 2013, with the aim of having a mass-participation litter pick on the three highest peaks in
Scotland, England and Wales, 507lb of rubbish was removed from Ben Nevis alone. Since then, the figure has decreased – last year’s event saw 253lb of waste collected from the mountain.
However, the total amount of rubbish collected on all three peaks combined has more than doubled since 2013 and reached 1,347lb last year.
The Daily Mail and Keep Britain Tidy are encouraging the public and businesses to join the Great British September Clean and help pick up litter between September 11 and 27.