Louts ruining our beauty spots
With the easing of lockdown, parts of Stirling area have been left with rubbish strewn across streets, debris left at both city and rural locations.
Last week the Stirling Observer launched the ‘Don’t Trash our Future’ campaign, calling for the punishment for littering to be raised to a £1000 fine or 100 hours of supervised community litter picking and we insist that it’s compulsory for local authorities to enforce the law.
The Stirling Observer, together with local community and information platform Inyourarea.co.uk and our nationwide network of sister newspapers and websites, have teamed up with Clean Up Britain to push for changes we believe will leave no choice but for both irresponsible litter louts and the authorities - who have the power to enforce the law but so often don’t - to take long-lasting action.
A petition has been launched with the aim of reaching 100,000 signatures so we can lobby the Government to change the legislation and shed the country of its long-held reputation as a litter-plagued nation.
We’re also calling on councils to flex their muscles in the fight against rubbish and make far better use of the powers they already have available.
Stirling area has saw dozens of instances of litter louts trashing areas.
Last month, 21 people were charged with irresponsible camping and environmental damage after parts of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park were left in a mess.
Areas were covered in rubbish over the first weekend after travel restrictions were lifted.
Later that month, a further 21 people were charged with irresponsible camping and environmental damage.
Other beauty spots across Stirling area have also ben trashed by louts.
The campaign has sealed crossparty support, being backed by a host of politicians and community groups.
So far, the campaign has been supported by: Stirling MP Alyn Smith; Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford; Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Dean Lockhart ;
Trossachs and Teith ward councillors Evelyn Tweed, Martin Earl and Jeremy Mcdonald and Killin Community Council.
Stirling SNP MP Alyn Smith said: “I’m very supportive of this campaign. Images of widespread littering in some of Stirling’s beauty spots over the past few weeks have been heartbreaking to see. I want to see tougher penalties for people who disregard these areas, and I have written to the Scottish Government on this.
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve held a number of online surgeries with community councils across the Stirling area. Time and time again, the issue of littering has come up. It’s a big issue, and what is being done currently clearly isn’t enough in tackling it.”
Stirling SNP MSP Bruce Crawford also threw his support behind the campaign, saying: “Littering is unsightly, it’s dangerous, and it can cause severe disruption to biological ecosystems. The Scottish Government has introduced important legislation the has helped to tackle and reduce high level littering in the form of fly-tipping.
“However, littering remains an issue in parts of the constituency.
“There is always room to improve how we tackle issues like this, and I would encourage people to support this campaign, but also to think about how we can better tackle the litter problem.”
Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP, Dean Lockhart said: “This campaign needs our support, as does the ‘Love it like a Local’ one being run by the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. We are all frustrated by those idiots that keep refusing to change their ways despite repeated attempts to persuade them to do so. If you litter then you should run the risk of a heavy fine or having to spend a lot of your time picking it up.”
To sign the petition, go to https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/ news/dont-trash-our-future/