Tenth of Scots public places covered in litter

Litter is blighting an increasing number of public spaces in Scotland over the last 10 years, according to a watchdog.

Figures from Keep Scotland Beautiful show 10% of streets, squares and parks surveyed last year had an unacceptable level of rubbish, up from 7.7% the previous year and just 3.7% a decade ago.

Only 20% of spots inspected in 2021 had no litter, at a time when public services including street cleaning and weeding were hit by lockdown.

The charity is due to publish its annual Local Environmental Audit and Management System report later this year. The document is based on checks of 13,000 locations which public bodies, mostly councils, are responsible for keeping clean.

Barry Fisher, Keep Scotland Beautiful chief executive, said: “It will once again highlight an avalanche of evidence from audits and public perception audits from the past two decades – all of which points to a looming litter emergency – hidden in plain sight.

“Public perception, as published in the Scottish Litter Survey, indicates beyond doubt that litter is a matter of significant public concern, both at a national and a local level.

“Not only do people recognise that there is a problem but they also believe that this has wider implications for their communities, in terms of perception, health and wellbeing and nature.”

He added: “We estimate that more than a million people in Scotland are now living in places where local environmental quality is declining more rapidly than the national average.”

The Scottish Government estimates that a quarter of a billion pieces of litter are dropped in Scotland every year. Ministers are currently preparing a national litter strategy.