In an initiative involving council staff and business owners the area around the historic Grassmarket will be targetted in the same way as The Royal Mile was earlier in the year.
Volunteers and business owners are set to give the Greater Grassmarket area a post-festival buff and polish this week.
Weeds, graffiti, litter and flyposting will be tackled by the team, which will include environment staff from The City of Edinburgh Council, during this Friday’s Clean Up Day.
The clean-up has been organised by the Greater Grassmarket Business Information District (BID), following the success of a similar event in June this year.
Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “The Grassmarket and the surrounding streets are extremely popular with locals and visitors, and are steeped in history.
“Edinburgh is a beautiful place but litter and graffiti can spoil the impression we give. This clean-up campaign shows that businesses take pride in the area in which they work, and is also a great way of spreading the word that Edinburgh is not a waste bin.
“A lot of work is being done by cleansing staff to clean up, but the best way in which the public can help is by binning or recycling their rubbish.”
Georgia Artus, from the Greater Grassmarket BID, said: “We’ve received very positive comments from local residents, businesses and visitors surrounding the Clean Up activity we’ve been working on so far this year, including seeing great results from our Greater Grassmarket Clean Up team visiting in the first week of September.
“Friday is a chance for us to work in partnership to enhance the area even more, and we want to say thank you to everyone who volunteers their time.”
Anyone who wants to join in can either meet at the blue police box in the middle of the Grassmarket at 10am, or else approach one of the volunteers – who will be wearing high-vis jackets. Free tea and coffee will be provided.
The Greater Grassmarket area includes the stretch from George IV Bridge to West Port, and has undergone many cleanliness and improvement initiatives since the Greater Grassmarket BID was set up earlier this year.
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