Kirkcaldy litter picking group set to conduct first clear-up after lockdown

The group’s founder, Peter Docherty, is urging anyone who lives in the area to come and join them this weekend to help tidy the field after an alarming increase in the amount of microplastics and other rubbish littering the area.

Peter, from Kirkcaldy said: “This will be our first organised litter pick since last September as lockdown restrictions have prevented us from meeting as a group.

"I founded the group last August after noticing a rise in rubbish littering the streets and green spaces in the town and decided to do something about it.

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"There are three main members in the group, but people from the community and other litter picking groups join us as and when we need them.

"The litter problem in the town is getting worse as Fife Council put a lot of their litter picking operations on hold over lockdown."

Since Keep Our Fields Tidy was founded, the group has collected over 50 bags of rubbish with Peter noticing a steady rise in face masks carelessly thrown away.

"There is a lot of assorted waste to be picked up, including quite a few disposable face masks,” he said.

"So on Saturday we are tackling the big field just off Fair Isle Road – we are meeting at 12pm and depending on how many people join us it should take around three hours to clean it up.

"I recently walked passed the field and it is full of microplastics and all sort of other waste, so any help we can from members of the community would be greatly appreciated.

"We’re asking that anyone who joins us on the day to bring their own litter pickers as we haven’t been able to get any from Fife Council’s safer communities team due to COVID, although we will have bags for people to use.”

For more information, or if you would like to volunteer to help the group, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/KeepOurFieldsTidy/

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