I AM not surprised to read that Scotland is "being choked by soaring levels of litter and filth" t (“One million Scots living in ‘dirty’ towns and streets”, The Herald, October 16). Many of us will have seen people depositing material outside carry-out retail outlets, letting litter fall wherever they happen to be walking, and dropping their waste out of car windows.

From time to time one can witness verbal jousting between a litter lout and a member of the public, having the courage to remonstrate with someone blithely depositing waste on the streets. The riposte to such remonstration is often foul-mouthed. How does one try to prevent the current dire situation from degrading further? How does one get Scotland into a similar situation such as the Scandinavian countries? It is not surely by employing more litter collectors. More education to mitigate anti-social behaviour in this regard will not work, because many people are not disposed to listen.

The answer rests, in my view, in having strict laws which are rigorously enforced. We should consider following the example of Singapore, which, while working with various groups to encourage the right values in keeping the environment clean, applies measures such as maximum fine for first conviction – $2,000; maximum fine for second conviction –$4,000; maximum fine for third conviction – $10,000/

Courts are also able to impose corrective work orders, which require offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.

If the concerns expressed by Keep Scotland Beautiful are to be addressed effectively, we need to get serious and less dilatory and half-hearted, about meaningful enforcement action.

Ian W Thomson.

38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.

THE contents of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Report in litter and fly- need to be read in context with the following:

1. Keep Scotland Beautiful is a publicly-funded quango that sought charitable status to take advantage of additional external environmental funding.

2. Environment Secretary, Richard Lochhead promised his introduction of a 5p charge on plastic carriers would significantly reduce litter, also promising the net proceeds would be available for donating to “good environmental causes”. Keep Scotland Beautiful receives such donations from at least one national retailer. Actually there are now more carrier bags in the litter stream and at least half of the 5p proceeds have simply been kept by the smaller retailers as extra income;

3. For around two decades now Keep Scotland Beautiful has been monitoring the performance of Scottish councils and regularly awarding most of them more than 95 per cent for their street cleansing standards. The councils are required to work to a Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse that dates from the early 1990s;

4. Our councils have a statutory duty to keep their areas clean and they all spent around £80 million on this work last year, according to the best information available.

5. The Director of Zero Waste Scotland is on record as regularly stating that “litter is a valuable resource”.

More than three years ago the Scottish Government set itself a target of becoming “the cleanest country in Europe by 2020” but that goal is surely now remote. Scottish Government provides 80 per cent of our councils’ funding, so surely it can’t simply walk away from this disgraceful situation?

We are a dirty nation (a criticism that can be laid at the door of all parts of the UK) but it will take more than fancy words and soundbites to sort it. Trying to link the problem to “poorer areas” is simply a red herring. As is the baloney that deposit return schemes will make any difference either.

There’s enough legislation available for councils to prosecute litterers and fly-tippers, and it’s high time it was used.

John F Crawford,

4 The Breakers,

Victory Boulevard, Lytham.

I READ with interest and concern Derek Robertson's Agenda article on litter ("Get angry and act over the scourge of litter", The Herald, October 16)

I too am saddened and distressed by the volume of rubbish strewn on our roadsides, in parks, at beauty spots and around towns.

Scotland is a major tourist destination, famed for its beauty. What must these tourists think when faced with all this litter?

While I agree with most of the points made, I think we must try harder to engender some level of community and individual responsibility for keeping our environment clean.

Campaigns such as "Keep Scotland Beautiful" are admirable but will only influence a proportion of the population.

It is easy to say "the council should clean up more". Unfortunately, with limited resources at its disposal, the council has to prioritise caring for the old, the young and the frail. With the remainder, the council has to provide roads, housing, lighting and many more essential services.

So I say it is everybody's responsibility pick up litter. The council can deal with large items, dangerous items and fly tipping. Individuals and communities have to take responsibility for smaller items.

Individuals or groups could adopt a local area and pick up litter. Schoolchildren could do this as part of social and community education. With litter-picking tongs and instructions only to pick up plastic bottles, cans, takeaway food packets and polystyrene drinks containers (as these items form the majority of the litter) school students could do this safely and effectively.

Hopefully it would encourage them not to drop litter themselves and also develop in them a sense of responsibility for their environment.

Catriona Kellock,

92 Beauclerc Street, Alva.