More than 60 lager cans found on short stretch of River Esk

A litter hotspot beneath Olive Bank Bridge and an area towards Bridge Street were cleared out to highlight the need to stop litter from land reaching the sea.

The event in Musselburgh last Thursday was part of a series of clean-ups rescheduled from January, one of a number taking place on major rivers across Scotland such as the Dee, Don, Esk, Forth, Ness, Nith, Clyde and Tay.

The campaign hopes to encourage people to tackle litter from source to sea. With 80 per cent of marine litter coming from land – washed into gutters, blown into streams and rivers, and lost down drains – the initiative aims to “raise awareness, gather evidence and inspire action”.

Rubbish collected from the Esk included 66 lager cans recorded in just one 100m stretch – mostly found in bushes next to the river – as well as confectionery wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic packaging and smaller pieces and fragments of “unidentifiable plastics”.

A clean-up with Scottish Coastal Clean Up was carried out in December, when a “hotspot” of litter was found under Olive Bank Bridge. It was decided to revisit and survey the site as part of Upstream Battle.

Fiona Gallie, campaigns officer with Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Although the weather wasn’t on our side for the Musselburgh Upstream Battle litter pick, we were joined by four hardy volunteers – including our chairman, Tom Brock, Councillor Shona McIntosh and Kerrie Flockhart, from Scottish Coastal Clean Up.

Kerrie Flockhart, of Scottish Coastal Clean Up, and Tom Brock, chairman of Keep Scotland Beautiful and former chief executive of the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick, promote the ‘Upstream Battle’ campaign in Musselburgh

“We removed five bags of litter from alongside the River Esk, stopping it from entering the water and flowing to the sea.

“The volunteers collected data from four 100m transects, with 66 lager cans recorded in just one 100m stretch.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their help, and encourage people to join in, or organise, a clean-up as part of our spring clean to help tackle the litter emergency.”