Council workers are spending 12 hours a week clearing up after litterbugs at an Aberdeenshire beauty spot.
Details of the drain on public funds emerged this week as the local authority debated ways to tackle the issue at Haddo House and Balmedie beach.
Exasperated councillor Jim Gifford suggested that signs relaying the impact of littering on public life should be erected.
Mr Gifford suggested the slogan could say something like “we could employ seven primary school teachers if you take your litter home with you”.
He added: “Maybe that is a message that might resonate with people.”
Haddo House litter requires hours of work
The alarming figures were revealed as the Formartine area committee discussed ways of resolving litter woes at known hotspots.
Principal landscape services officer Andrew Mcintyre attended the meeting to lay bare the impact on public resources.
He told the committee that local authority staff currently spend around 12 hours a week picking up litter and emptying bins at Haddo, while it takes four hours for staff at Balmedie.
He also said that rangers have carried out 15 visits at Balmedie to keep an eye on litter levels and to monitor the use of bins.
Signage is currently in place at both parks however the council is looking to put up new ones at Balmedie to encourage people to bring their litter home instead of leaving it behind.
It is proposed that a similar campaign will run at Haddo encouraging visitors there to do the same.
Mr Mcintyre said: “The main aim that we are looking to do is continue to work with our partners at Haddo and Balmedie to try and encourage people to use bins.
“But if they can, they should take their litter home with them, promoting more personal responsibility and education.”
He said that social media would be used more to “encourage people to think about bringing litter to the park”.
It will question whether they have to bring single-use plastic, instead of taking reusable material.
Staff at Haddo Country Park have already started work on new signs to reduce litter, highlighting the need to protect the natural environment.
Meanwhile councillor Iain Taylor suggested that photographs of the litter collected at both parks could help to highlight the problem.
He said it could show “just how much litter there is, what it equates to money-wise and what else we could be spending that money on”.
Carnage at Balmedie beach as sunbathers leave piles of litter and damage disabled toilets