Weekend plastic litter clear-up at Hazlehead Park football pitches

Weekend litter clear-ups are to be put in place to deal with the problem of plastic bottles being dumped at a group of football pitches in Aberdeen.

BBC Scotland revealed on Monday that concerns had been raised about a "serious plastic litter problem" at the city's Hazlehead playing fields.

Sport Aberdeen, which looks after the pitches, criticised some users for not taking litter away after matches.

It now says it will introduce clear-ups at weekends as well as on week days.

The organisation said it consistently reminded teams using the venue that it was their responsibility to leave the pitches clear after games.

A Sport Aberdeen statement said: "To say the least it is very disappointing that some local users do not take their litter away or use the recycling points that we have on site.

"Sport Aberdeen provides bin bags to each team to assist them in keeping the pitches clear of litter before they go out to use them."

'High-quality environment'

The organisation that it "prides itself on delivering high-quality services and operating in an environmentally-sustainable manner".

The statement added: "It is regrettable that better use is not being made of the dry waste recycling facilities that we have available.

"Whilst our grounds maintenance contractor deals with litter picking during the week and deposits the waste collected in their own dry waste recycling facilities, this is not carried out during the weekend.

"To make sure that the litter does not accumulate over the weekend we will put in place additional litter-picking arrangements to ensure that all users accessing Hazlehead Park for leisure, sport and physical activity can do so in a high-quality environment."