Visitors have gathered plastic and other rubbish from a Scottish beach
A remote beach in Ross-shire is a great deal cleaner thanks to an innovative self-service cleaning station installed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT).
In just one month visitors have gathered a total of 130 kilograms of plastic and other items that have washed up on Dun Canna near Ullapool and placed them in the station to be taken to the local recycling centre.
Among the 130 kilos of litter collected in the station are items including fishing ropes, net and twine, packaging, strapping and domestic containers.
Noel Hawkins, Living Seas community officer at the SWT, said: “Earlier in the year we held a big clean-up at Dun Canna but it took a lot of organisation as the beach itself is quite remote.
“The beach is also very popular with visitors so I thought that a self-service cleaning station that encouraged people to pick up a small amount of litter and drop it off on their way home could be a good idea.
“The amount of litter that visitors have collected from the beach in the first month is overwhelming, and I’m delighted that people are buying in to the idea.
“I’d like to thank Keanchulish Estate for their enthusiastic support of this trial, as well as Highland Council who are allowing the litter collected at the station to be deposited at their recycling centre free of charge.”
Ben Bulmer, owner of Keanchulish Estate, said: "We're delighted to be a part of this excellent initiative and would like to thank all the volunteers as well as Noel Hawkins and his team who have worked so hard.
“We're hugely encouraged by the response from visitors, and are in no doubt that it will have a massive impact in the ongoing battle to clean up this wonderful coastline."
The station is built from a pallet box which was donated by Keltic Seafare in Dingwall. It is stocked with bin bags and litter pickers and is designed to withstand harsh conditions including strong winds.
The trial is part of the SWT’s Living Seas project, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
