A 30-strong team of volunteers on Skye has cleared a remarkable 10 tonnes of waste from Skinadin (Sgianadin) Bay during a three-day litter pick.
Working from a base in the Forest Enterprise Scotland car park just outside Broadford, the team gathered items, ranging from domestic and garden waste to car parts, gas bottles and even a One Direction cushion.
Volunteer Matt Harrison said: “There was a great sense of community spirit and the funny thing was, although the task was fairly thankless – and disgusting in places – there was not a single passenger.
“Everyone turned up, saw the job at hand and got on with it.
“It has been a very rewarding experience and we hope that our example will encourage and inspire other people and communities across the island to do the same.
“It’s perfectly feasible that the Isle of Skye could make a name for ourselves as the cleanest location in Britain.
“It’s amazing how big a difference a small group of people can make to their area.”
The next stage for the community is working to prevent the littering from happening in the first place.
In addition to greater community vigilance and educating people about the impact of litter, the team will be looking at erecting more signage and will be working with Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) on installing more fencing.
Local FES forester, Bruce Taylor, said: “We’d like to sincerely thank the team who carried out this tidy-up. It has made a huge difference to Skinadin Bay and the car parking area.
“We are looking to upgrade the area next year, but we were looking at a chunk of our budget going towards getting contractors to clean up the site.
“This community effort has been an immense help to us and means that we can now focus our limited resources on improving the immediate area for local residents and for tourists.”
FES is turning its attention to erecting new fencing, which will both allow access and prevent further fly-tipping and dumping in the future.
