'˜Academy litter is big problem'

Councillor John O’Brien said he was shocked by the level of litter on Methilhaven Road last week, and has called on the school to educate its pupils on the danger litter poses to the environment.

“It’s a real shame,” he said. “Fife Council has spent money putting in new bins to deal with the extra pupils, but when I inspected them last week, they were empty. I worry that it’s a state of things to come.

“The majority of pupils are leaving school at lunch time to go and have chips, burgers and curries at the local traders, and they are just dropping the wrappers and boxes on the way back.”

Levenmouth Academy opened at the start of the new school year four weeks ago, and is the second largest school in Scotland.

The state-of-the-art facility, funded by Fife Council and the Scottish Government, has more than 1600 pupils and has around 200 staff members.

Cllr O’Brien said the school must teach the children about disposing of their litter properly.

“The education on this needs to come from the school,” he said.

“I am surprised that they don’t have any prefects or teachers out in the grounds monitoring the situation and maybe that’s what needs to happen for the first few weeks.

“If they continue to do this, it will be an even greater strain on our street cleaning teams.

“The kids just seem to be unaware of the damage they are doing to their town.

“I will be bringing this up at the next council meeting to make the head Ronnie Ross aware of my concerns.”

Ronnie Ross commented: “We work closely with pupils to ensure they understand their role as responsible citizens and the importance of safeguarding and caring for our local environment. Staff have been working with Police Scotland and the council’s environmental services to monitor and address any concerns residents have over litter in the local community.

“Additional bins have been provided in the area and in the school grounds. Monitoring by school staff in the area around Sea Road and Methilhaven Road over the last two weeks has demonstrated that young people from the school are making far better use of these bins to dispose of their rubbish and litter at lunchtime.

“This issue will also continue to be a regular theme in our assembly programme and through our Health and Wellbeing Programme. Local residents and businesses should also keep us informed so that we can work together to quickly address any issues as they arise.”