A GROUP of environmental campaigners in Inverclyde have been chosen to launch a major Clyde clean-up project.
The Literati Guide to Inverclyde has been selected to host the first litter pick of the year in the Upstream Battle campaign run by Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The campaign, which works to stop land-based litter getting into rivers, and ultimately the sea, has motivated thousands of people throughout the whole River Clyde area since its launch in October 2018. A similar project runs on the Tay.
The litter pick will take place at Parklea playing fields, Port Glasgow, on Wednesday 6 July between 11am and 1pm. Volunteers are welcome.
Literati Guide spokesperson Vicky Cookson said: “We have been invited by Keep Scotland Beautiful to host the year’s first litter pick of the Upstream Battle campaign because of all the good work we have been doing in Inverclyde.”
Keep Scotland Beautiful says many initiatives that tackle marine litter are targeted at cleaning up beaches or trying to remove litter from the sea once it’s there.
It adds: “However, as 80 per cent of all marine litter comes from land, we also need to face this problem upstream, where litter is washed into gutters, blown into streams or carelessly discarded.
“Worryingly, we are seeing a steady increase in the amount of land-based litter, which means there’s a greater chance it’ll end up in the sea.
“We must stop this cycle of litter and prevent it from entering the sea in the first place.”
