Orkney Islands Council and Greener Orkney to work in partnership during national clean-up campaign

Orkney Islands Council, in partnership with Greener Orkney, is supporting Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Summer Clean for 2021.

The Summer Clean runs from May 28 - June 20 and aims to encourage small, local actions to help tackle issues with litter.

Litter levels in Scotland have continued to be at their worst in a decade. National polling conducted in June 2020 showed that 30% of people believe the overall condition of their local neighbourhood has deteriorated over the lockdown period.

The Council and Greener Orkney have organised two litter picks during the Summer Clean campaign:

• Saturday 12 June – Crantit, at 10:30.
• Saturday 19 June – Area behind Tesco/Lidl, at 10:30.

There are ten spaces on each pick, anyone wishing to take part will need to get in touch with Angela Fitzpatrick from Greener Orkney and project lead for the clean-ups by phone on 01856811421 who will provide more information on where to meet etc.

As well as these two organised litter picks both Greener Orkney and the Council would like to encourage others to support the campaign too. If people want to get involved and keep their area tidy then they can make an individual pledge (which involves proposing an amount of time they will commit to cleaning up their local area) and this will be converted into miles by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) and contribute to the campaigns overall mission. Individuals are encouraged to join in and make their pledge on the KSB website.

Chairman of Orkney Islands Council Development and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Graham Sinclair said: “During the last year, many of us have been out and about more enjoying our unique landscape. However, litter is always an issue and the Keep Scotland Beautiful 2021 Summer Clean campaign is a great way to get people involved in making sure that Orkney is kept beautiful for everyone”.

Paul Wallace, Campaigns and Innovation Manager at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “The challenging events of the last few months have provided an opportunity for all of us to spend more time in our local area and better appreciate the places we live. However, they also created a unique opportunity for many of us to reflect on the decline in the condition of our communities, to notice the litter and dog fouling that we might otherwise have passed by, to be enraged at the selfish actions of our fellow citizens and to consider how we might make a difference. This is your chance to do something positive and help clean up Scotland.”

Greener Orkney member, Angela Fitzpatrick said: “The Keep Scotland Beautiful Summer Clean campaign is an opportunity for members of the community to come together and take action to ensure that Orkney’s environment is kept greener and cleaner for all to enjoy”.