I HAVE stressed the importance of us protecting the environment and how we all have a role to play, no matter how small or large.

We must all make the effort to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Locally, I commend the hard work of the Musselburgh StreetClean group who regularly undertake litter picks throughout the town.

Their work is entirely voluntary and very much appreciated.

Littering and flytipping is a major issue that must be addressed in East Lothian and across Scotland. Going forward, there must be a strategy in place to deal with incidents of littering and flytipping but also increase the awareness of this issue and the consequences it has on our planet.

There must also be a degree of strong and consistent enforcement to prevent people from littering and flytipping.

READ MORE: Colin Beattie MSP column: Looking forward to better times ahead

The Scottish Government, in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), have launched a consultation asking for your views on the new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy for Scotland.

There will also be public information events on Thursday February 10 and March 8.

I would encourage my constituents to participate and give feedback on the paper.

The closing date for the consultation is March 31 and details can be found on the Scottish Government’s Consultation webpage at consult.gov.scot/environment-forestry/national-litter-and-flytipping-strategy

In other news, the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme has now gone live in Scotland, meaning all youngsters that have applied for the new National Entitlement Card (NEC) or Young Scot NEC can take advantage of this scheme. This not only benefits our young people and gives them further access to leisure, jobs and educational opportunities but delivers on one of the Scottish Government’s first 100 days of government promises and contributes towards Scotland’s net-zero goal.

If you are eligible and have yet to apply, details are on the Transport Scotland website.