Vouchers reward young bin users

More litter bins will be provided by the local council

Youngsters in a north east town are to be rewarded if they are seen putting litter in bins.

Those spotted disposing of their rubbish the right way in Fraserburgh will receive gift vouchers as part of the Bin It 'n Win It campaign.

Police officers, traffic wardens and community wardens will be able to dish out the tokens at random.

But the Green Party said it was "a shame" that the litter problem could not be tackled another way.

A spokeswoman said: "Ideally, everyone in a community, including children, should have enough pride in their local environment to work together to keep it as clean as possible without the need for specific incentives such as the vouchers for shops.

'Worthy project'

"It does seem a shame that the local agencies involved in this scheme had to resort to giving out vouchers in order to tackle the litter problem in Fraserburgh.

"However, if this at least encourages children to put litter in the bin and to think about the health of their local environment, it may end up being a worthy project, particularly if children get into the habit of binning litter at an early age and continue to do so in adulthood."

The scheme aims to keep Fraserburgh's streets tidy

The campaign, due to be launched at the start of the next school term, is being run by Grampian Police and Fraserburgh Future Partnership in conjunction with Fraserburgh Academy.

Sgt Colin Reid, of Grampian Police, said: "It is to try and encourage behaviour from the children, and get them to think about the work that has to be done when they do not put litter in bins, and also to have a bit of pride in Fraserburgh.

"There has also been a competition in schools to design a poster for the initiative.

"When police, community wardens and traffic wardens see people placing litter in bins, some of the children will at random be given gift vouchers, although I don't know how much they will be for."

The winning poster will be displayed on five new litter bins which have been installed in the town by Aberdeenshire Council.