It was a fine day at the top of Calton Hill – and the seagulls were making hay with the litter strewn around the bins at the top.
Although Council workers arrived shortly after these shots were taken, one of them said that it is often like this. He simply cannot understand why people do not take their rubbish with them if the bin is full or overflowing.
And The Calton Hill Conservation Trust (CHCT) just carried out a litter pick on Saturday – which they do regularly.
A spokesperson said: “CHCT have been raising the problem of overfowing bins repeatedly in past weeks. The council responded by putting two new 1280 litre wheel bins on the hills, but we were concerned that the public might not understand how to use them without clear instructions.
“Ironically the hill was in pristine condition after the CHCT litter pickup on Saturday. We emailed council officers in the cleansing department at 9.40am but so far we have only received out-of-office auto-replies. When we phoned we left a message on the answering machine but so far I’ve had no reply.”
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Scott Arthur said: “It is really disappointing to see this level of litter at one of our city’s most beautiful and popular parks. If a bin is full or overflowing please keep your litter with you and use an alternative one.
“Our colleagues in waste visit Calton Hill daily and do a great job in keeping the park clean and tidy for our residents and visitors. We’ll continue to liaise the Calton Hill Preservation Trust to find the best way forward on maintaining this space.”
CHCT kindly provided the photos here showing that the operatives emptying the bins left the scattered litter where it was…
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