Real Food Café clears over a tonne of litter in six months

The Real Food Café in Tyndrum, Perthshire, has helped clear the local area of over a tonne of litter in a six-month-long clean up operation that ended on Boxing Day.

Staff from the fish and chip restaurant along with nearly 100 volunteers aged 9-83 went out on the last Sunday of the month from 30th May through to 26th December and collected a total of 1.02 tonnes of litter, mostly consisting of drinks cans, plastic bottles, wet wipes and nappies.

The campaign was part of an initiative to protect and maintain Tyndrum and the surrounding areas in support of the #RespectProtectEnjoy campaign from VisitScotland.

Not only did the cafe provide volunteers with the equipment required but in return for taking part, volunteers were given a free portion of fish and chips for their efforts.

The café welcomed volunteers from across Scotland, from Glasgow to Dunblane.

Café manager Colin McGeoch who ran the project said: ‘‘These past six months have really been an eye-opener to how committed our community and visitors are to fight the litter issue. We are lucky to live and work in such a stunning part of the world but it’s so important that we maintain the area and do our bit to avoid it becoming a dumping ground.

“Like most people that visit, we have respect for this tiny corner of Scotland and all its beauty, but from the figures, we know there’s still some way to go. We are overwhelmed by the support and look forward to running the campaign in 2022.’’

Sarah Heward, co-owner of the Real Food Café and Regional Food Tourism Ambassador for Forth Valley and Stirling, has supported Colin with this project.

She added: “We are so pleased to share how much of a difference this group has made to the local area and to be part of a project making a difference in Scotland. The problem of littering is still a huge issue in the wider community across rural areas.”