What a load of rubbish

DORCAS Sinclair and the volunteers she works alongside have reason to celebrate with an incredible 5.3 tons of rubbish removed far north beaches.

The Caithness Beach Cleans group hit the highs of litter picking after just a few months and have new gear to boot thanks to Latheron, Lybster and Clyth Community Council and also Tannach and District Community Council.

The new litter-pickers – supplied through the community council funds – have proved to be a great bonus for the group whose numbers have "gone from strength to strength" since being set up in March.

Dorcas said: "Once people start with litter-pickers we can expect to see up to 10 times more picked up than previously which is why I wanted them for the group. I had purchased loads of different types but these are the #2minuteBeachClean recommended ones and are very good."

The group has jackets on loan from Caroline Swan and volunteer cards as well now.

"We hope to have printed jackets in the near future so that people know what we are doing, the cards are to hand out to anyone who is interested and to prove who we are, and what we are doing," said Dorcas.

"Since we started on March 3 this year we have collected 5.3 tons of rubbish – mostly plastic. The group is going from strength to strength, we now have 247 members of whom about 30 are now active."

Dorcas thinks that the reason Caithness Beach Cleans does so well is because there are no formal meetings and "everyone does their own thing in their own time".

"They just weigh what they pick up – we can provide scales – take a photo and post it to the group on Facebook."

Anyone wishing to get involved with the group should look for Caithness Beach Cleans on Facebook.

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