The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will conclude its work this Parliament in March 2026 ahead of the next Scottish Parliament election. So the Committee has time to complete its work, it has agreed not to consider petitions submitted after 10 October.
The Committee will continue to meet but given the volume of petitions and agreed work programme it is unlikely that the Committee would be able to meaningfully progress work on petitions submitted after 10 October ahead of the election. Petitions lodged after this date will not fall when the Parliament is dissolved and will be for the successor committee to consider in the new session.
If you are seeking urgent action or policy change please contact one of your 8 MSPs or the Scottish Government directly.
Closed petition PE1880: Introduce awareness and practical experience of litter picking and waste separation into the school curriculum
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make an appropriate level of daily cleaning part of the curriculum in schools, including litter picking and waste separation.
Previous action taken
We emailed MSPs, contacted schools and councillors, and are involved in regular litter picking.
Our local MSP, John Mason, suggested a petition might help raise the profile of the issue to lift it up the agenda in parliament.
Background information
Keep Scotland Beautiful recently stated that ‘Scotland is facing a potential litter emergency’.
In recent years, anti-littering strategies, campaigns and clean-up activities have just scratched the surface. It is time for a systemic change to properly address the issue and drive a cultural shift in society about littering and respect for the environment.
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ‘Learning for Sustainability’, and we believe there is an appetite for a curriculum-linked approach.
Such an approach is followed in Japan where cleaning time is part of students’ daily schedule, throughout primary and secondary. It only needs to be 15-20 minutes a day.
If students are responsible for their mess, they are less likely to make it in the first place and will show respect for their surroundings.
Besides making street cleaning almost unnecessary, this cultural shift is essential in the context of waste reduction and recycling to ease the litter emergency. Read more at https://cleanupglasgow.co.uk/sp
This petition was considered by the Scottish Parliament
438 signatures