Why we must swallow our pride to keep Scotland beautiful – Hayley Matthews

During the week, I was filming with Zero Waste Scotland, making a video about the deposit return scheme which, when it comes into play will be a huge game-changer for Scotland, writes Hayley Matthews.

If everyone picked up one piece of litter a day it would make a massive difference

Not only will we reduce our carbon and CO2 footprint massively by around 1.3 million tonnes, but we will also be leading the way in the UK for recycling glass and plastic and drinks containers.

Two of the most interesting interviews I’ve done in a while were with women who share a passion for recycling glass.

Mies Knottenbelt, a volunteer from cycling pressure group Spokes, was telling me about the dangers of glass on cycling paths and how it can really cause a lot of problems for cyclists.

I also had a great chat with Nik Turner from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, who left me with a really interesting thought. She said if everybody picked up one piece of litter a day, then that would equate to five million pieces of litter that won’t be lying about in our parks on our beaches or in our oceans.

It also made me realise that we seem to have a pride thing going on with picking up someone else’s litter but I can’t quite work out what it is. Do we see it as beneath us to pick up random litter off the street?