Initiative tackles marine litter from Source to Sea

Activities will take place up until September 15.

Source to Sea Week will take place between September 8 and 15 and follows the success in previous years on the Clyde and Tay, with more reach and impact and clean up more waterways across the country.

And, for the first time, Keep Scotland Beautiful is offering the chance to win prizes – including £150 and vouchers – to those completing a daily action such as telling people about Source to Sea week, completing a litter survey or choosing to reuse.

This year’s Source to Sea Week will launch with events in Dundee and Aberdeen and there are also events in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth throughout the week.

The iniatiative is part of the charity’s award-winning Upstream Battle campaign, the aim of which is to inspire changes in behaviour and promote the importance of tackling various litter pathways from streets and parks to waterways, preventing it from making its way into the marine environment.

With 80% of marine litter coming from land, tackling the issue at source is imperative.

Eighty per cent of people living in Scotland believe the amount of litter in our rivers is a problem, with 12.7 million tonnes of plastic entering marine waters every year.

Paul Wallace, Campaigns and Social Innovation Manager, said: “Scotland is facing a litter emergency and we know with increasing levels of litter being recorded in the country this will have an impact on our seas nationally, and globally.

“Our Upstream Battle Source to Sea Week is a great opportunity to get involved and take collective action to tackle marine litter at source with likeminded people who care about our environment.

“From organising a litter pick to completing a litter survey, there are plenty of ways for people to get involved.

"It would be great to see individuals from businesses to community groups from all over the country take part in our Week of Action and help us stop litter at source.”

Visit Source to Sea Week | Upstream Battle (keepscotlandbeautiful.org) for more information about the programme of activities taking place.