Davie Black, centre, during a 2019 litter pick on Conic Hill, above Loch Lomond
Hill-goers in Scotland are being encouraged to keep the peaks clear of litter in a campaign organised by Mountaineering Scotland.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “If we don’t do it, who will?”
The representative body is reviving its Tak It Hame scheme in the wake of reports of widespread despoiling of the countryside by visitors.
Mountaineering Scotland, which represents climbers, hillwalkers, mountaineers and ski-tourers north of the border, said: “Tak It Hame 2020 is being launched as coronavirus lockdown eases and the lifting of travel restrictions has seen much publicity about littering and ‘dirty camping’ in some of Scotland’s most popular beauty spots.
“Following the success of Tak It Hame in 2019, it had been planned to relaunch the campaign in early spring to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Mountaineering Scotland. But due to the coronavirus lockdown, that was put on hold along with all outdoor activities.
“Now that travel restrictions are lifted and with the re-opening of tourism in Scotland, Tak It Hame aims to support the national anti-littering campaign ‘Scotland is stunning – let’s keep it that way’ by encouraging everyone who goes walking or climbing in Scotland’s hills to take responsibility for keeping our world-renowned mountain landscapes beautiful by taking litter home for proper disposal and recycling.
“The message is simple: If we don’t do it, who will?”
Davie Black, access and conservation officer for Mountaineering Scotland said: “When we launched the Tak It Hame campaign alongside our conservation strategy in June 2019, we hoped that our members and clubs would get involved and that it might start to reach the wider hill-walking and mountaineering community.
“In fact, it reached much further than we ever expected, with people from all over Scotland and the UK contacting us and wanting to get involved.
“Many of Mountaineering Scotland’s affiliated clubs organised litter picks, and many individuals – both members and non-members – shared photos on social media of the litter they had removed from the hills, using the #TakItHame hashtag.
“It was really encouraging to see how people got behind the campaign and that’s why we are keen to get it back up and running again this year.”
Hill-goers are encouraged to take a suitable bag in their backpack each time they venture out, which they can use to take litter away for recycling or disposal. As part of the campaign, Mountaineering Scotland is also asking people to think about how they could reduce their use of packaging for drinks, snacks and packed lunches, and find alternatives to single use plastics and food wrap.
