Plastic in all its forms is littering Scotland’s streams, rivers, and seas.

A survey of litter found at streams and rivers in Scotland by volunteers has revealed that plastic bottles were the most littered item, followed by plastic pieces, plastic snack packets, drinks cans and polystyrene pieces.

These items are then blown out to sea eventually landing up on beaches and broken down, consumed by marine life.  80% of marine litter comes from land. Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle® campaign focuses on raising awareness of the impact of plastic littering.

Littering Top Ten

1. plastic bottles
2. plastic pieces
3. snack packets
4. drinks cans
5. polystyrene pieces
6. cigarettes
7. glass fragments
8. dog poo
9. plastic bags
10. plastic bottle caps

The recently published Upstream Battle® Citizen Science Report – a snapshot of data gathered by volunteers across a three-month period between December 2023 and February 2024 – consists of 185 surveys conducted along 26 rivers and waterways in 20 local authority areas across Scotland.  It forms part of the national rollout of the campaign, aimed at understanding and addressing marine litter across the country. Although no survey took place in Orkney the results may very well be the same or similar. Across the areas surveyed Plastic dominates the results.

In total 20,383 items were counted during the survey period, with the majority of litter found to be items which would be addressed under a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) or effective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.

The rest of the top 10 items littered include cigarettes, glass fragments, dog poo, plastic bottle caps and plastic bags.

Barry Fisher, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said:

“On the back of an extremely successful Spring Clean, this report celebrates the efforts of many individuals and groups who took time out of their busy lives to carry out surveys and send data to us, providing us with much needed evidence of the range of items that are damaging our rivers and waterways.

“The data shows similarities across the country, but also highlights regional nuances – this report highlights the importance of understanding and addressing these issues at a national and local level.

“I’d like to thank everyone who supported this data drive, from our tireless volunteers to our partners and funders who have shared and echoed our message and vision.

“Scotland’s litter emergency is damaging our rivers. We need our governments to commit to tackling single-use packaging litter through improved Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and to ensure a Deposit Return Scheme is not further delayed. These policy measures are needed now – litter levels will only get worse without them.”

Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle® campaign raises awareness of how litter from land travels from source to sea – becoming marine litter – and inspires people to take positive action.