PICTURES: Inverness Sea Scouts pick up almost 180kg of rubbish in litter pickup initiative
AN INVERNESS group of Scouts has been busy cleaning up the canalside.
As part of the Big Paddle Cleanup organised by British Canoeing, members of the Inverness Sea Scouts met over four Thursdays last month to help make the canal a cleaner space and pick up the rubbish between Clachnaharry and the way to Dochgarroch.
In total, they collected 395 pounds worth of rubbish over the four evening sessions (179kg).
Sea Scouts leader Barry Mcilwraith said it showed the group that it's not only kids who litter the area.
"All the Scouts did a great job," he said. "We took out of the canal bikes, break discs, broken exhausts, lots of signs, and the last session we found a big stash of empty red bull cans (180to 200 cans) all in a big pile.
"For the scouts, to see what had been thrown away (break disks and exhausts) – not even close to a road so people were going out of their way to throw them away when they could have gone to the recycling centre or sell the scraps. It's a shame.
"Many items were quite obviously thrown away by adults, who really should know way better.
"It was quite impressive to see the amount we collected, especially when taking all the black bags together."
He added that they'll probably do it again next year.
"We usually do smaller pickups around our base but this is the first year we take it to a bigger scale.
"Wherever we go, we make a point to leave it the way we found it if not better!"
Chantelle Grundy, access & environment lead at British Canoeing said about the initiative: “The Big Paddle Cleanup showed how much the paddling community cares about our waters and what they’re prepared to do to protect them.
“Combining social action through the Big Paddle Cleanup, with physical activity, is a fantastic way of bringing people together and improving our local surroundings.
“Together, as a team, we will continue to protect our waterways to do what we love.”
