More than 30,000 people take part in Spring Clean Scotland

More than 30,000 people took part in an annual Spring Clean Scotland challenge this year.

Running from 17 March until 17 April, environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful had initially hoped for 20,000 sign-ups for the four-week event.

However, expectations were smashed with time to spare as the challenge ended with a grand total of 30,305 people signed up across more than 1,700 events in every local authority across the country.

Thousands of volunteers rolled their sleeves up, grabbed their gloves and litter pickers, and joined in events up and down Scotland to help tackle the litter emergency and help improve their local area.

Spring Clean 2023 was organised in association with the Great British Spring Clean. This year’s event was launched at Holyrood Park alongside by MSPs Paul McLennan and Foysol Choudhury.

This year also saw the launch of the Litter League competition where seven trophies were up for grabs for the youngsters who collected the most litter. A huge congratulations to Methlick School, Hilltop Primary School, Woodmuir Primary School, Shawhead Primary School and Our Lady’s Primary RC for winning the regional prizes and to Crossgate Primary School for winning the national prize. All winners will receive a #SpringCleanScotland trophy to keep for one year as part of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s commitment to sustainability.

Previous Spring Cleans have shown just how much young people in Scotland care about the environment and their desire for preserving our natural beauty. Once again, the charity hosted a series of Live Lessons covering topics such as wildlife, the history of spring cleaning and the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle). A fantastic turnout across this week of events saw more than 5,000 pupils from every local authority area taking part from 654 schools.

The charity also held our own litter pick near their hub in Stirling and collected more than 50 bags and found some interesting items including a lawnmower and half a bike.

Barry Fisher, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “We know that Scotland is facing a litter emergency and so we need everybody to do their part and help us clean up Scotland.

“Our target of 20,000 sign-ups was beaten with time to spare and the total figure shows that there is so much recognition that there is work to be done and the time to act is now.

“We know the size of the task in front of us and this year’s Spring Clean has given everyone at Keep Scotland Beautiful even more encouragement to continue doing what we’re doing. Collaboration and teamwork will be key to tackle the litter emergency and every effort, no matter the size, will make a difference.

“I’d like to say a huge thanks to every single person, community group, school, business and organisation who took part in this year’s Spring Clean.”

While the 2023 Spring Clean Scotland may be over, you can still help clean up Scotland. Why not organise a litter pick with friends, family, workmates or your wider community? Or find one to join in with on the charity’s Clean Up Scotland map: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/clean-up-scotland-map/