Since the pandemic, many more people across Perth and Kinross are wishing to take up litter-picking. We have teamed up with community councils, community groups, householders and businesses to form a network of 'hosts' for litter picking equipment so that you can borrow, share and return litter pickers locally in your community.
Previously PKC's Waste Services & Community Greenspace Teams lent litter picking equipment to individuals and community groups - Officers in Pullar House lent the equipment and it was returned once a litter pick was complete. However, to minimise travel and the transmission (or possibility of transmission) of coronavirus, Hosts were set up across Perth and Kinross so that you can instead contact someone locally if you want to borrow - and then return - litter picking equipment. This Network of Hosts has proved very successful, so we are continuing with this format for the foreseeable future.
To make the Hosts sustainable, anyone borrowing a Litter Picker is kindly requested to return it immediately after a litter pick, or to leave contact details with their Host so that they can be contacted to return the litter picker if others want to borrow the equipment. It is the responsibility of both the borrower and the Host to disinfect the litter picking equipment between lendings.
Litter picking equipment and litter picking with someone else
Each host usually has 5 or 10 litter pickers for borrowing and sharing locally. This enables up to 10 or 20 people (subject to any relevant Covid government guidance, at the time, allowing this number to gather) to litter pick an area. In pairs, one person can hold a bin bag and the other person can utilise the litter picker.
To ensure that litter picking volunteers have all they need, Litter Picker Hosts are invited to email the Waste Awareness Team to request a top-up of the following equipment as and when it is needed, for litter picking volunteers to borrow:
- stickers for labelling bagged litter prior to its uplift at a pre-agreed time and location by PKC's Operations Team
- correx signage and A4 and A3 posters to deter littering
- disposable gloves
- replacement orange feet for a litter picker
N.B. Any Groups or Schools who would like to carry out litter surveys of a specific area and then deliver an Anti-Littering Campaign with PKC are invited to email the Waste Awareness Team. Groups or Schools undertaking litter picking activities are also welcome to borrow the Anti-Littering Stencils (PDF) [819KB] from PKC's Waste Services Team. Please contact the Team via the email address above.
To find more information on safely litter picking in groups, view Clean Up Scotland's guidance (PDF) [141KB] .
Where can I borrow litter pickers from?
View our Community litter picker hosts page to find a host nearest to your home. You can use the contact details provided to directly contact your nearest host and discuss the borrowing, sharing and returning of the litter pickers in your area.
The businesses acting as hosts are boosting their community engagement and green credentials and use the litter pickers themselves to clear litter from around their premises and also to get involved in local community litter picks.
Hosts are encouraged to read the FAQs for Hosts (PDF) [133KB] . If your contact details change or you no longer wish to be a Host, please email the Waste Awareness Team so that we can keep these webpages up-to-date.
What do I do with the bagged litter?
- Litter can be disposed of in your kerbside bins when you return home.
- Litter can be put in (or next to) any PKC litter bin along your litter picking route - if you find a full litter bin, please report it via MyPKC. A number of Hosts have stickers to identify the bagged litter as being collected during a Litter Pick and the Waste Awareness Team can re-stock Hosts and/or Litter Picking Volunteers as required.
- If you are planning a Community Litter Pick and would like the bagged litter collected by PKC's Waste Services Operations Team, please email the Waste Awareness Team with the date of the Community Litter Pick, the time that it will be completed and the locations where the bagged litter will be left (ideally somewhere like a layby where it is safe for our Council vehicle to access).
There are littered items too big (or too unsafe) to move
- If there are road signs or road bollards, etc which are no longer fixed in position, these can be reported via MyPKC (Report a fault on a road or street or make an enquiry). Please mark this FAO the Roads Team: Maintenance Department
- Other items of litter and things like sandbags can be reported via MyPKC for our Waste Services Operations Team to action. Please find more details about how to do this on the Litter webpage
- Fly-tipped items such as mattresses can also be reported via MyPKC for our Waste Services Operations Team to action. Please find more details about how to do this on the Fly-tipping webpage
I have a litter picker which I no longer want
If you have an unwanted litter picker in your shed, cupboard or garage, please email the Waste Awareness Team who will be happy to gather these for reuse.
Alternatively, consider offering your litter picker for reuse via Freecycle or Freegle - but please remember to disinfect it thoroughly before and after use.
More information
Before you go litter picking, it's good to have a think about your Litter Picking Risk Assessment (PDF) [102KB] and also the Checklist for litter picking (PDF) [144KB] . Further information is available on the Do your bit to Clean Up Scotland (keepscotlandbeautiful.org) website.
If you or your community would like to take part in Spring Clean 2023 - The Litter League (PDF) [4MB] , please contact your local Litter Picker Host to arrange borrowing litter picking equipment.
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