New drive to tackle litter on Gateway to Scotland

Members of the Berwickshire Anti-Litter group tackle rubbish dumped at an A1 lay-by near Cockburnspath

Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is hoping to convince drivers on one of the country's busiest roads to bin their litter.

The A1 is described as the Gateway to Scotland and runs between Edinburgh and the border with England.

Local anti-litter groups said it had become a "dumping ground", with tonnes of rubbish collected every year.

In an effort to clean up the verges and lay-bys, Keep Scotland Beautiful is embarking on a roadside and online advertising campaign.

The charity is producing billboards, posters and also stickers for bins in an effort to drive home the message.

Chief executive Barry Fisher said: "Roadside litter is a huge problem - it damages Scotland's reputation, it's ugly, dangerous and expensive to clean up.

"The message is simple - bin your litter responsibly or take it home.

"There is no excuse for roadside litter."

Anti-litter volunteers from Berwickshire and East Lothian collected more than 20 bags of rubbish from a single lay-by

BBC Scotland spent a day with volunteer groups on the A1 earlier this year on one of their regular verge and lay-by litter picks.

As well as discarded food wrappers and empty drinks containers thrown from passing vehicles, they were faced with a growing number of bottles of pee, bags of poo and dumped household items.

At one lay-by alone, just south of the East Lothian border, they found car tyres, a fridge, a television, a wardrobe and a dozen bottles of urine, as well as enough other rubbish to fill about 20 black bags.

Volunteer Alison Currie said: "We need public education campaigns, better enforcement and some joint up thinking to tackle the A1's litter.

"At the moment it's just a dumping ground."

Volunteers with the items and rubbish they pulled from a banking next to an A1 lay-by

Various authorities and agencies are coming together in a bid to tidy up the A1

The new A1 campaign will see Keep Scotland Beautiful partner with Scottish Borders Council and East Lothian Council, as well as Transport Scotland and Bear Scotland to promote the take litter home message.

They will also work closely with Berwickshire Anti-Litter Group.

Candi Philips from the Berwickshire group said: "Roadside litter is caused by a variety of issues which are all impacting our environment.

"Our way of life is dominated by convenience, fast food outlets, excessive packaging and over consumption of single-use materials.

"While this way of living seems to have become the norm, we must reiterate the importance of binning your litter properly or taking it home – throwing litter from your vehicle should never be an option.

"Until we have this change of mindset we will continue to play our part to keep Scotland beautiful."

The new A1 anti-litter drive follows on from similar campaigns on the A9 as well as roadsides in West Lothian and around Dundee.