MSP Gordon Macdonald, joined staff and pupils at Balerno High School to praise the leading role they are playing in keeping their community litter-free.
Students taking part in Balerno High School’s “Eco Project” go out in classes on a rotation basis to clean the 3G pitch at Malleny Park and the school grounds.
And once a month, they take to the streets of the village. The students, staff and their local MSP spent a morning earlier this week exploring the impact of littering and discussing the importance of personal responsibility for correct litter disposal.
The school’s project is part of a wider effort in Edinburgh, which has been recognised as one of the foremost cities showing leadership in tackling litter – with the introduction of smart bins which help prevent litter from overflowing as well as many local groups coming up with their own innovative ideas to help prevent and tackle the impact of litter.
The Council’s ongoing Our Edinburgh campaign is aiming to instil pride in the local environment amongst the public and has proven a success, with an increase in the amount of litter binned in the areas concerned.
SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald, said: “I was impressed to see the students and staff at Balerno High School showing real leadership on tackling litter, with their Eco Project.
“It’s great to see the students recognising the importance of caring for our local areas and taking pride in where we live.
“The morning was a great opportunity for the students to explore the public health and the environment issues of littering, and how we all must take personal responsibility to support cleaner, safer communities.
“Public awareness of littering has really picked up recently, with people recognising their own responsibility to keep our streets clean and litter-free. We should all do the right thing with our litter, there’s no excuse – bin your waste or take it home if a bin is unavailable, it’s simple.”
