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Strategy aims to further boost civic pride
North Ayrshire Council is aiming to bolster existing civic pride with a refreshed approach to tackling litter, fly-tipping and dog fouling in communities.
At a recent Cabinet meeting, elected members were presented with the updated Clean North Ayrshire: Litter, Fly-tipping and Dog Fouling Prevention Strategy 2026-2030.
This aims to use the following four key priorities to encourage a renewed sense of pride on our environment and create visible improvements through:
- education and awareness – encouraging positive attitudes to keeping the local environment tidy through school programmes, public campaigns and community engagement
- improved infrastructure and community support – making sure the correct bins and signage are provided to support the safe disposal of litter and dog waste, promoting existing waste facilities and disposal services and ramping up support of the great work existing community clean-up groups do
- stronger enforcement – recruiting two additional Environmental Enforcement Officers to strengthen the existing team and targeting well-known blackspots and
- increased use of data and partnership learning – to help target hotspots, use resources to their maximum and working close with schools and organisations including Police Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.
Community partnerships will be key to the success of the Strategy when it comes to a Clean North Ayrshire with less litter, fly-tipping and dog fouling.
The Council has carried out engagement with elected members, community groups and residents with support from Keep Scotland Beautiful, and the new approach aligns with Scotland's National Litter and Fly-tipping Strategy.
Quote: Well-maintained public places make neighbourhoods much more attractive for residents to live in, for visitors to spend time in and for business to invest in. Staff in our Neighbourhood Services are doing a great job and by working together towards a Clean North Ayrshire I am sure we can improve our environment a little more. Our network of volunteers in different groups collected more than 3200 bags of litter in 2025, open spaces such as parks and beaches - and will be important in our plans going forward. Enforcement is being strengthened and we hope this will deter residents from creating eyesores in the localities. We have some stunning coastline, beaches, parks and other areas to be proud of. It is not all doom and gloom – we already have high standards of street cleanliness, with a cleanliness score of 89.7% in 2025/26 in the Local Environmental Audit Management System (LEAMS) when the acceptable score level is 67. This is one of the highest scores we have recorded as a local authority, and I am confident that we can nudge this even higher by focusing on prevention and encouraging small changes in behaviour that will make a big difference. We would like to create a culture where it is not acceptable to drop litter, fly-tip or refuse to clean up after your dog. It is important that everyone realises litter, fly-tipping and dog fouling are environmental crimes.
Quote from: Councillor Eleanor Collier, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy
Actions in the Strategy will be carried out using existing budget. Earlier this year, Council approved an additional £1.496million investment in street cleaning, investment in Streetscene equipment and operations and a local grant fund to support existing community clean-up groups and set up new ones.
Cabinet approved the draft updated Litter, Fly-tipping and Dog Fouling Prevention Strategy on 29 September.
Published: 15 October 2026