| Kenny MacAskill visited the Barnhill Rock Garden before walking along a stretch of Broughty beach, where low-level offenders are paying back the community by cleaning up the waterfront.
A survey by the Marine Conservation Society showed Scotland has the highest density of litter in the UK — volunteers surveyed 523 beaches, including Broughty, and recovered over 55000 items of rubbish.
Mr MacAskill said that the report showed there was still much work to be done.
“If our beaches are dirty then that sends out the wrong message,” he said.
“We’ve got a long way to go and this report is quite shameful. It’s not a simple problem and we are looking at a variety of solutions. This community service initiative is a win-win situation for the beach and the community.”
One of the offenders involved in the tidy-up as part of his 180 hours of community service said it had made him more aware of his own behaviour.
He said, “I used to come down to the beach with my kids and I never used to bother about all the rubbish lying about. Once you start cleaning it up, you start to think more about keeping it tidy. It annoys me now when I see rubbish thrown about.”
Doug McLaren from the Broughty Ferry Community Council said, “The community service workers make all the difference in keeping Broughty beach clean — without them the place would be in a bit of a mess.”
The Friends of Barnhill Rock Garden have organised the annual spring clean-up on Saturday. |
