SCOTLAND’S environment minister visited Gullane beach after local youngsters wrote to her about rubbish being washed up there.

More than 20 youngsters from Gullane Beavers took part in a beach clean last autumn which saw 1,000 tiny plastic pellets, known as nurdles, as well as dozens of cotton buds among the items collected.

The plastic pellets, which are about the size of a lentil, are often washed up on the county coastline and can cause injury or death to marine animals.

The Beavers then wrote letters to Roseanna Cunningham MSP, who visited the village last Thursday to outline plans to introduce legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds.

The proposals will be put to public consultation and, if implemented, would see Scotland as the first country in the UK to legislate against the items.

Plastic cotton buds are consistently listed in the top 10 forms of beach litter in surveys by the Marine Conservation Society. And North Berwick-based charity Fidra has been working with businesses to promote biodegradable alternatives.

Ms Cunningham said: “Banning plastic cotton buds would be a clear sign of our ambition to address marine plastics and demonstrate further leadership on this issue.

“Despite various campaigns, people are continuing to flush litter down their toilets. This has to stop.

“Scotland’s sewerage infrastructure collects and treats some 945 million litres of waste water each day. These systems are not designed to remove small plastic items such as plastic buds which can kill marine animals and birds that swallow them.

“These products are completely unnecessary, as biodegradable alternatives are readily available.

“The need for action is clear and I would encourage everyone with an interest in safeguarding our natural environment to take part in the consultation when it opens.”

Alasdair Neilson, project officer at Fidra, which runs The Cotton Bud Project, said: “This progressive step will be welcomed by everyone who has seen cotton buds polluting beaches and harming wildlife.

“A ban would support the responsible businesses that have already removed this single-use plastic item from their shelves.

“Let’s hope it also marks a bigger shift in the way we use and value plastics.”

Emma van der Vijver, one of the leaders of the village’s Beavers, said the beach clean had proven a real eye-opener.

She said: “Previously we would walk along the beach and it would appear to be really clean. Now you know the issue and are aware of the situation and you don’t have to look very hard to find the cotton buds.”

She described it as “a real honour” that the MSP had come to the beach to meet the Beavers and highlight the problem, adding: “We are very proud of our Beavers, all of whom have clearly engaged with this issue.

“What we started as an activity to find plastic nurdles and cotton buds on our local beach to work towards the Community Impact badge has really caught the kids’ attention.

“The Beavers are delighted the work they have done has been recognised in the local press and within our community. To have Ms Cunningham come to meet the kids is a real honour and testament to the work that the Beavers have put in to raise awareness.”