A GROUP of volunteers got together this morning to clear up litter left in Edinburgh’s Meadows and use it to spell out Scotland’s coronavirus death toll number.
A message was posted on The Meadows Share Facebook group last night calling on local residents to meet in the green space at 5am this morning, following headlines about the “disgraceful” amount of rubbish left there in recent days.
Dode Allen Media put together a video about the action, which aimed to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives and sacrificed a lot during the pandemic – and make council workers’ jobs “a bit easier”.
READ MORE: Edinburgh: Anger as Meadows are left covered in litter
One of the organisers spoke to the filmmaker about their frustration following days of litter being strewn across the park.
“Like a lot of people who live near or around the Meadows, we were looking at all the rubbish which was just forming across the whole place,” she told Allen. “But more so than that, with having a lot of friends who have sacrificed a lot through lockdown – people who’ve lost their jobs, lost their businesses, and are really sticking to the rules – it was just upsetting to see how many people completely disregarded that hard work and sacrifice and the sacrifice of our friends who work in ICU.”
The organiser said she and her husband called on people to join them in the Meadows early this morning to take action – and added it was “amazing” to see the response from locals.
She went on: “One person putting down one piece of rubbish can become 1000 people putting down bits of rubbish and just leaving it there – and similarly the behaviour of us as individuals can really transform our local communities.
“The actions of the people who turned up this morning, a small group of people, their actions became a big action and it made a big difference and made council workers’ jobs a bit easier. It just felt good to be doing something positive, and also remembering the people who’ve sacrificed their lives and sacrificed a lot during this very difficult time for everyone.”
Yesterday author Ian Rankin had shared images of beer cans, glass bottles and empty snack wrappers strewn across the Meadows.
The photographs sparked anger, with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf even sharing them out to highlight the issue.
People are being urged to clear up after themselves if they are out enjoying the nice weather this week.
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