People could soon be "recycling on the go" as part of a broad assault underpinned by tighter litter laws to help cut the £100m annual bill for picking up street rubbish in Scotland.
People could soon be "recycling on the go" as part of a broad assault underpinned by tighter litter laws to help cut the £100m annual bill for picking up street rubbish in Scotland.
Companies could also sponsor not only bins but entire thoroughfares, paying for the cleaning of specific streets with their advertising, Scotland's first litter summit heard yesterday.
Environment Minister Mike Russell agreed with campaigners that laws on littering may need to be toughened up with higher fines and wider powers introduced.
Dedicated bins in parks and other public spaces should be set up so people can recycle cans, plastics and paper materials as they finish with them, or "on the go", the summit heard.
People could also be paid for taking rubbish for recycling through "reverse vending" schemes, said Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB), which organised yesterday's event.
The conference heard that public attitudes must be changed, as many people still believe that littering is acceptable.
Delegates from waste management, businesses and local authorities heard that private companies should develop "corporate social responsibility schemes" to encourage involvement in clean-up initiatives.
Mr Russell said: "The key issue is to change the way that people behave. Younger people, the 16 to 24-year-olds, are the worst offending group."
"In America whole stretches of highways are sponsored for clean-ups," he said.
"We need to look at how we can bring the private sector in to work with us on these things.
"I think also that local authorities, who are doing a good job, need to introduce systems to what they are doing.
"For example, Falkirk has a very effective litter plan where they know where the priorities are and how to deal with them.
"Local authorities need to focus on problem areas. But by and large the view that is universally accepted now is that changing behaviour is what it's going to be about."
KSB said such plans would let people know what cleanliness standards they can expect and from whom, what their own responsibilities are, and what action to take if they are dissatisfied with standards in an area.
Campaigners have been calling to have litter laws tightened primarily to tackle smoking-related litter in the wake of the smoking ban.
Richard Lochhead, Environment Secretary, said: "Scotland is one of the world's most scenic and beautiful countries and its beauty is an asset that should not be blighted.
"Litter remains an unsightly problem for urban areas, affecting quality of life and community morale. It is also a problem that costs money to deal with."
He said local authorities have spent more than £3.5m a year on enforcing litter laws.
John Summers, KSB chief executive, said: "With almost half the Scottish population admitting that they still drop litter, the debate on the current litter issues affecting Scotland couldn't come at a better time."
In the past year in cities and densely populated areas, half of Scottish local authorities failed to meet KSB's minimum cleanliness standard.
Top ideas
1. A national campaign to encourage proper litter disposal
2. More convenient recycling and paying people to do so
3. More community initiatives such as National Spring Clean and Beachwatch
4. Tougher general littering enforcement
5. Improvements to law to allow local authorities to tackle smoking-related litter
6. Encourage private businesses to support a cleaner environment, such as sponsored litter bins
7. Bring in local "litter plans" for trouble areas
