Aerial Photography Pinpoints Litter Hotspots Around Scotland's Coast

Aerial Photography Pinpoints Litter
Hotspots Around Scotland’s Coast

 A map has been created which highlights the true level of littering around Scottish coastlines. A project that took aerial photographs to pinpoint the most affected areas has resulted in a map being created to help volunteers target the areas where clean ups are most needed.

The SCRAPbook project

The project, known as SCRAPbook, which stands for Scottish Coastal Rubbish Aerial Photography is a joint initiative between three charities; the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol and the Moray Firth Partnership. The SCRAPbook project was set up by the Moray Firth Partnership to help tackle marine litter and the Scottish Government donated £23,000 to kickstart it.

Sky Watch pilots have been flying over parts of Scotland’s coastline for the past few months and taking photographs when they spot litter. The amount of visible litter is recorded and the area is given a score of one to five, with five meaning that the litter problem is more severe.

The litter hotspots

The worst areas identified in the north of Scotland were at Loch Fleet, where 20 concrete sleepers had been left next to a railway line, Huna, where there is considerable fly tipping, and Red Point, where there are dumped fish crates and plastic.

Hopes for the SCRAPbook project

The Marine Conservation Society hopes that the project will help remedy the problem that many stretches of beach have no recorded clean up. Their conservation officer for Scotland added that the information collected from the project will help to show the government and industry what needs to be done to tackle marine litter.

The minister for rural affairs and natural environment minister said that litter that is washed up on the coastline harms the natural environment, whether it’s in the sea or on land. She added that the information from the project will help them to focus their clean up efforts and keep their coastline beautiful.

The SCRAPbook map

You can find the map at www.scrapbook.org.uk and anyone can use it.