South Ayrshire Council News

Councillors with representatives from Strathclyde Police, South Ayrshire Council, Kyle and Belmont A

Pupils from Kyle Academy and Belmont Academy have been taking part in a pilot scheme to encourage them to dispose of litter properly, by placing it in litter bins around the schools and to pick up litter others have dropped.

The schools, Strathclyde Police, and employees from South Ayrshire Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team and Waste Management department have been working together to encourage pupils to take part in the scheme. Pupils were made aware of it at their school assemblies and posters were placed around the school and in local shops to encourage everyone to take part.

Whenever Campus Police Officers at the schools and Waste Management Officers who regularly visit the schools, saw pupils placing litter into a bin they took a note of their name. All the names collected were then entered into a weekly prize draw to win a £20 gift voucher for HMV.

The names of pupils seen dropping litter and not picking it up and disposed of properly were also taken and a letter was then sent to the pupils parent or carer to tell them about it.

Councillor Hywel Davies, the Council’s Portfolio Carrier for Learning and Prosperity said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this project and in particular the pupils from Kyle and Belmont Academy who have made a real difference to their schools. Litter is unsightly and damaging to the environment, they have helped to reduce the amount of litter outside their schools, at nearby shops and in the surrounding streets. By doing this they are helping the Council to improve the environment and demonstrating that, even though it is not just young people who drop litter, they are willing to work hard to clear it up.”

At the end of the pilot project that started in January 2008, and will run until the end of March 2008, the names of all pupils from both schools who have successfully collected litter will be entered into a grand prize draw. These pupils will then have the chance to win a bicycle, in the draw that will be held after the Easter Holidays.

Officers from the Council’s Waste Management department have been carefully monitoring the levels of litter in and around the schools during the project and these will be analysed so that the impact on litter levels can be recorded.