A summit to explore barriers and solutions to the problem of litter is being held in Edinburgh today.

Subjects for discussion include public attitudes, enforcement, support for voluntary initiatives, links between litter and recycling and the role of businesses.

The conference has been organised by Keep Scotland Beautiful and will also be attended by local authorities, community representatives, environmental organisations and the private sector.

It is being attended by Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead and Environment Minister Michael Russell.

Mr Lochhead said: "Scotland is one of the world's most scenic and beautiful countries and its beauty is an asset that should not be blighted.

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"As part of moving Scotland towards becoming a zero waste society, the Scottish Government has put a significant amount of work into areas like recycling.However, litter remains an unsightly problem for urban areas, affecting quality of life and community morale. It is also a problem that costs money to deal with."

Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) estimate that the annual cost to local authorities for street cleaning alone is around £100 million. Fifteen local authorities have spent over £3.5 m on litter enforcement activities for that same period.

Mr Russell added: "Latest figures show that litter is more of a concern to the public than issues such as noisy neighbours and vandalism, and all age groups of the Scottish population have admitted to droppinig litter.

"We would like to thank KSB for bringing together local authorities, environmentalists and the private sector and I hope that today's event will result in some good collaborative ideas."

John Summers OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful also said the organisation are delighted to have been able to assist Scottish Ministers in bringing together the key players for the first event of its kind in Scotland.

"I have high hopes that this litter summit will give us, and the Scottish Government, a renewed focus on how to deal with the culture change that is required to stop people littering our beautiful country," he said.

(GK)