Insert namesupportsKeep Scotland Beautiful’s anti-litter campaign during national week of action.

Insert name> is helping raise awareness of the blight of roadside litter, taking part in a week of action on the issue. Led by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, the campaign urges everyone to take personal responsibility for their litter, encouraging them to “give your litter a lift, take it home”.

We are delighted to be <organising a clean up/hosting an awareness-raising event/participating in the schools competition/ describe your activity as part of the week of action celebrations. Running from 12-20 May, it encourages everyone across Scotland to take action to help tackle roadside litter, by getting involved in roadside litter-inspired clean ups, taking part in a school competition and sharing the #GiveYourLitterALift message on social media. With the aim of building up a coordinated activity across the country, this week of action comes as the amount of litter, flytipping and graffiti blighting communities reaches its worst level in a decade.

<Insert spokesperson details>said:

“We are proud to be working with Keep Scotland Beautiful and supporting the charity’s roadside anti-litter week of action. With the amount of rubbish and flytipping in Scotland at its worst level in a decade, and given that 50 tonnes of litter is collected from Scottish motorways every month, we must all take action to raise awareness of the scale of the problem.”

Georgina Massouraki, Campaign Officer of the Roadside Litter Campaign, said:

“We are delighted that <insert name> is taking part in the Week of Action this May, helping raise awareness of the roadside anti-litter campaign. The weekis a wonderful opportunity for members of the community, businesses, local authorities and schools to celebrate what they are doing to help tackle the issue on Scotland’s roads. By spreading the message to ‘Give Your Litter a Lift’, we can encouragemore people to do their part in tackling the blight of litter on Scotland’s roads.”

Recent monitoring by Keep Scotland Beautiful has revealed that over 82.8% of Scotland’s main roads and iconic routes are affected by litter. With investment from industry and working in partnership with Transport Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland, VisitScotland, road operating companies and local authorities, the campaign hopes to see road users reduce the amount of litter thrown from vehicles.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

  1. Keep Scotland Beautiful is the charity that campaigns, acts and educates on a range of local, national and global environmental issues to change behaviour and improve the quality of people’s lives and the places they care for. We are committed to making Scotland clean, green and more sustainable.
  2. The roadside litter campaign has been made possible with investment from industry, including members of the British Soft Drinks Association and McDonald’s.
  3. The national campaign is urging road users to take personal responsibility for their litter, encouraging them to “give their litter a lift, and take it home.
  4. *All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1000 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 25th July 2016. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scottish adults (aged 18+).
  5. Media enquiries to <insert name of contact from group and contact details>.