Plea from Burntisland action group over '˜awful' rubbish problem

The litter louts have come under fire from Floral Action Burntisland, the organisation which has been sprucing up the town’s streets for four years.

The group’s chairman, Scott Sweaton, launched an online rant at those responsible for defacing the town’s streets, highlighting the road between Kinghorn Loch and Burntisland as a prime example.

He said: “This road is regularly tidied up by litter squads from Fife Council around twice a year. I had told them that it was looking a bit untidy and they went out and tidied the complete stretch just a few weeks ago. I noticed on the Monday that it was looking great, but then by the Friday when I was driving back from work it was a real mess again.

“There were discarded pizza boxes and fast food wrappers, juice bottles and paper cups and it looked really awful.”

Scott said that as a group which regularly does litter picks around Burntisland, FAB members had noticed that litter was becoming more of an issue.

“Our remit is to enhance the floral aspect of Burntisland and improve it for residents and visitors. Part of that is trying to ensure the town is kept as litter free as possible. We also try to improve any derelict spaces and keep the weeds down and highlight any problem areas to Fife Council.

“People moan about the cuts that the council is making and the services that are suffering. If people didn’t drop litter the council wouldn’t have to pick it up, wasting countless amounts of money.

“If I go to visit a place and there’s a lot of litter then I won’t go back again, and Burntisland relies on its summer trade, so we need to keep it looking its best.

“Someone went to the trouble of collecting their rubbish into a bag before throwing it out the car, rather than waiting for the next bin or just taking it home to put in their bin.

“The council spends thousands tidying up our streets and we do what we can, but these selfish individuals are spoiling it for us all.”

Floral Action Burntisland is taking part in a Big Beach Clean with the Ecology Centre, Community Council and the Marine Conservation Society on April 2.

Anyone interested in joining in helping clean up the beach from Burntisland to Pettycur should meet at the Beacon Leisure Centre car park just before 2pm when all cleaning equipment and rubbish bags will be provided.

The Spring clean is part of the Marine Conservation Society’s nationwide event.