Towards a litter-free Scotland: a strategic approach to higher quality local environments

2. Executive Summary

'Towards a Litter-free Scotland' sets out Scotland's approach to improving our environment by addressing litter and flytipping problems.

Figure 1: How interventions reinforce each other and encourage personal responsibility.

Ultimately, it is people who create and discard waste. The strategy identifies ways to encourage people to take personal responsibility; through key information, infrastructure and enforcement activities.

Our focus on preventing litter and flytipping aims to encourage personal responsibility and reduce the need for expensive clean-up or enforcement. We all pay for these in the end: either as taxpayers or as customers of goods and services.

We want this strategy to enhance and reinforce work already underway across Scottish local and national government, business, charities, voluntary organisations and community groups.

We can influence individuals' behaviours when we work together and become a society which values its resources and which also benefits through:

• Reducing the damaging consequences of litter and flytipping for health and well-being, crime, property values, wildfires and even road accidents.
• Making better use of materials and products which otherwise end up as litter or flytipping.
• Cleaner, safer communities in which to live and do business.

This strategy is for people with a role in helping to tackle litter and flytipping and boost recycling. Its measures support each other. For example, when people know littering is a crime, and that they risk an £80 penalty if caught, it can discourage future offending.

Our actions are as follows:

Information

Communication - explaining why people should do the right thing with waste.

Education - encouraging long-term positive attitudes to waste and littering.

Local community action - helping people to take responsibility for their areas.

Infrastructure

Product and service design - working with businesses and designers to prevent materials from becoming litter.

Opportunities for recycling - increasing facilities in public places (such as Recycle on the Go) and increasing the range of commonly recycled materials.

Guidance - providing effective advice and best practice to the people whose jobs include particular responsibility to tackle litter and flytipping.

Funding and support - targeting resources on activity which delivers litter-free environments.

Research and monitoring - to increase understanding of how successful particular actions are in helping to reduce the problem, and informing future action.

Flytipping - further work to understand the reasons why people flytip and the possible solutions.

Enforcement

Strengthening the enforcement system - with effective laws and procedures that deter offenders.

Training - to support enforcement officers as they carry out their duties.

Summary

We will work with delivery partners to agree how best to deliver interventions and innovation.

This strategy complements other action to improve environmental quality, such as the development of a Marine Litter Strategy and wider street cleansing measures (including encouraging people to clean up after their dogs).

Its ambition is to position Scotland as a leader across government, business and communities to prevent litter and flytipping and to make wise use of resources. We are committed to showing leadership on tackling litter and flytipping and we can make a real difference when we all play our part.

Figure 2: The national litter strategy's links with other action to support cleaner, safer communities.