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New Anti Litter Campaign For Schools and Communities

7th January 2013

Photograph of New Anti Litter Campaign For Schools and Communities

Schools and communities gear up for the launch of new anti-littering campaign.

A new anti-littering campaign kicks off in Highland next week with 10 secondary schools signed up to take part in the first project of its kind that will bring pupils and the local community together to tackle littering.

Scope – Schools and Community Ownership for Pride in our Environment Litter Campaign – will run for a week at Alness Academy, Dingwall Academy, Inverness High School, Inverness Royal Academy, Kingussie High School, Nairn Academy, Glenurquhart High School, Millburn Academy, Portree High School and Wick High School.

Funding for the campaign has come from Zero Waste Scotland, the Scottish Government-backed body set up to help Scotland reduce waste, recycle more, and use resources sustainably.

Volunteers from the community will join Council staff outside the school grounds, at litter hot spots. They will be encouraging the young people to use the recycling and rubbish bins provided.

Anyone who uses the bins will be given a token. Each school has a target number of tokens to collect for the week. If this target is met, a prize draw will take place and pupils who have collected at least one token could receive a £10 note. The school will also receive £750 towards either an eco-initiative or equipment. A further £500 will be available for the community groups taking part at each school to share.

Litter audits were carried out at all of the 10 participating schools before they closed for the Christmas holidays.

Next week the campaign starts at Inverness Royal Academy where ASDA and local residents will be helping out. scope at Alness Academy also starts on Monday 14 January where 6th year prefects will be joining volunteers from local businesses and the West End Community Centre.

Kingussie High School, Portree High School, Dingwall Academy and Inverness High will take part the week beginning 21 January. The remaining schools at Millburn in Inverness, Wick, Nairn and Glenurquhart will start their week long campaign on the 28th January.

After the week long concerted effort at the 10 schools litter audits will be carried out and it is hoped these will show a decrease in the amount of litter lying on the ground.

The Highland Council’s Chairman of TEC Services, Councillor Phillips said: “The Councils currently spends over £3.4m every year cleaning streets of litter so this campaign will really help us address the root of the problem.

“We have had a really good response from the schools and their local communities, including food outlets and retailers, so we really hope the findings after the campaign at each school will show a real and lasting change in behaviour.”