Bags of help at North Kessock beach clean
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A MAJOR Black Isle beach clean against the backdrop of one of the peninsula’s most recognisable landmarks recovered 10 bags of waste, among it syringes, plastic and fishing lines.
It is the fifth time a group led by Greenpeace volunteers from Inverness has cleaned the beach at Scarabs at North Kessock near the Kessock Bridge.
Greenpeace activists “adopted” the beach via the Marine Conservation Society with the idea of not only cleaning up on a regular basis, but also monitoring results over a longer period.
David Smith, of Greenpeace Inverness, said: “We had a great turn-out which I think was due to online shares, it was really good to have so many people along.”
The community beach clean attracted around 30 volunteers, among them Highland Green MSP John Finnie.
Mr Finnie said: “It was a very successful day. It seemed to be very well attended which was great as it felt like we were all part of a community effort.”
Mr Finnie went on to say that although these litter clean-ups were essential, the long-term goal should be to stop littering altogether: “Ideally we want a situation where people are not dropping any litter. Prevention is better than cure.”
Among the litter picked up from the popular recreational area were six used syringes which Mr Smith believes were washed up rather than dumped there.
A spokesman for Highland Council said: “Most pharmacies offer a free needle disposal service. Failing that, people can put them in a safe container and take them to out to the waste management team at Lotland Street. Discarded needles should not be taken to recycling centres as they are classed as special waste.”
Greenpeace Inverness was established in October 2014 and has supported the organisation’s national and global campaigns.
