Latest news with #SpringClean
Daily Record
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Record
School and scouts group in West Lothian amongst those recognised for efforts to clean-up Scotland
Almost 6,000 people took part in events across the local authority area Litter picking groups in West Lothian have been recognised for their heroic efforts during this year's Spring Clean Scotland. The collective effort saw almost 50,000 bags – a massive 325 tonnes – of litter picked throughout the campaign across the country. Organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, Spring Clean Scotland is the country's largest coordinated mass litter picking activity and takes place over four weeks from March 21 to April 21. Over 33,000 people – including 18,000 young people – took part in one of 2,600 events covering every local authority area in Scotland. The Litter League, a competition for young people to get involved and compete for clean-up glory, returned for a third year and National award was won by B-Dale Explorer Scouts in West Lothian. West Lothian Litter Pickers were recognised with a Spring Clean Scotland Heroes award for their efforts throughout the campaign, with 449 litter picks collecting 2,162 bags of litter. Becky Gallagher from West Lothian Litter Pickers said: 'West Lothian Litter Pickers and West Lothian Council worked hard together to produce our most successful Spring Clean yet. We had approximately 445 events with 5,858 people who gave up their time to raise awareness and clean up their community and environment. "As well as our amazing WLLP members, we saw lots of schools, clubs and businesses take part. The environmental impact of the Spring Clean was visually noticeable and we can only hope that it has made an educational impact on people's behaviour with regards to littering and fly-tipping.' The Litter League, a competition for young people to get involved and compete for clean-up glory, returned for a third year and National award was won by B-Dale Explorer Scouts in Bathgate Arlene Davies, B-Dale Leadership Team Member, said: 'We are delighted to win the National award this year. It is heartening to see our young people being recognised for their hard work and volunteering. As a unit B-Dale decided to work towards the Scout Community Impact badge identifying that West Lothian has a litter issue. "With the support of West Lothian Litter Pickers and West Lothian Council our young people have managed to make a huge difference to our local areas. This is our first year as part of the Litter League and we hope our success encourages other Scout groups to take part in the future.' Falla Hill Primary School in Fauldhouse were the winners of the Litter League Edinburgh and Lothians award, with 190 pupils taking part in a school litter pick and collecting 50 bags of litter. Martin McCusker, Headteacher at Falla Hill Primary School, said: 'Under the drive and leadership of Ms Thomson and our Eco-Schools leadership group we have always been committed and dedicated to keeping our playground and community as litter free as possible. We are very proud that this year on year hard work has been recognised.'
Daily Record
06-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Dalbeattie Primary pupils clean up in Spring Clean Scotland competition
The youngsters were the winners of the Litter League Scotland South after collecting 37 bags of rubbish. Dalbeattie Primary pupils have cleaned up in a competition. The youngsters were the winners of the Litter League Scotland South, part of this year's Spring Clean Scotland campaign. Over the course of a month, 23 pupils collected 37 bags of litter, meaning the school came top of the Keep Scotland Beautiful campaign. Depute head teacher, Alex Howie, said: 'We are really proud of our families and their young people in Dalbeattie who gave up their own time to make this possible. 'Everyone who took part did a great job seeking out the areas which most needed tidied. In particular we would also like to mention the help of Dalbeattie Scouts, The Rotakids and the Rotary Club, along with our eco committee. 'This is the icing on the cake of our recent ninth Eco flag award.' Across Scotland, nearly 50,000 bags of litter were picked up during Spring Clean Scotland, which ran from March 21 to April 21. And Dumfries and Galloway Council's Darren Burns was recognised for his efforts with a #SpringCleanScotland Heroes award. Chair of the council's education, skills and community wellbeing committee, Councillor Maureen Johnstone, said: 'I'm delighted that our council provides local co-ordination the national Keep Scotland Beautiful Spring Clean campaign. 'Once again one of our schools has won the Litter League award for the Scotland South region, so I extend a huge congratulations to the pupils, staff and community of Dalbeattie Primary School. 'I am further delighted that our lead officer for the Spring Clean campaign in Dumfries and Galloway, Darren Burns, has received the Keep Scotland Beautiful Spring Clean Scotland Hero Award for his significant contribution the Spring Clean campaign. 'For the past three years, Darren has co-ordinated the Spring Clean campaign, with invaluable support from our council's community assets, community safety, environmental health, ward working and youth work teams. 'However, we all know that the real success of the campaign lies with the thousands of dedicated volunteers who take part each year, cleaning up our pavements, parks, beaches and beyond. This year alone, we hosted 424 events with 9,476 volunteers collecting 1,315 bags of rubbish. We provided litter-picking kits and ensured every bag was collected by our community assets team. 'The volunteers' commitment to keeping our communities clean and beautiful is nothing short of inspiring. My heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of them.' Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful added: 'We know there is a litter emergency in Scotland, but we also know there are people in every community across the country who are determined to take action and deal with the issue. 'Spring Clean Scotland gives us an opportunity to spearhead a collective effort to make a noticeable difference, inspiring as many people as possible to help clean up Scotland and we thank Darren for his brilliant efforts. 'I'm so impressed to see that more than half of our volunteers this year were young people. It's so inspiring to see the younger generation already taking notice and action of the litter issue in their communities. Congratulations to Dalbeattie Primary School for their Litter League win.'
Daily Record
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Airdrie school tops Spring Clean Scotland's Litter League for third year in a row
Hilltop Primary School in Airdrie were the winners of the Glasgow and Strathclyde award, with 24 pupils collecting 58 bags of litter. Tidy and triumphant Airdrie schoolchildren came out on top of a litter-picking initiative - for a third year in a row. Almost 50,000 bags of litter were picked during this year's Spring Clean Scotland as people across the country rolled up their sleeves to tackle the litter emergency. Organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, Spring Clean Scotland is the country's largest co-ordinated mass litter picking activity. Taking place over four weeks, more than 33,000 people - including 18,000 young people - took part in one of 2600 events covering every local authority area in Scotland. Hilltop Primary School in Airdrie were the winners of the Litter League Glasgow and Strathclyde award, with 24 pupils collecting 58 bags of litter. The Litter League, a competition for young people to get involved and compete for clean-up glory, returned for a third year and the national award was won by B-Dale Explorer Scouts in West Lothian. Laura Drummond from Hilltop Primary School said: "Hilltop Primary are delighted, once again, to be recognised for their efforts in keeping the local community and school grounds litter free. "P7a worked hard during the Spring Clean and cleared 58 bags of rubbish. "They are delighted and proud of the award, as it marks Hilltop's win for three years a row." Barry Fisher, chief executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "We know there is a litter emergency in Scotland, but we also know there are people in every community across the country who are determined to take action and deal with the issue. "Spring Clean Scotland gives us an opportunity to spearhead a collective effort to make a noticeable difference, inspiring as many people as possible to help clean up Scotland. 'I'm so impressed to see that more than half of our volunteers this year were young people. "It's so inspiring to see the younger generation already taking notice and action of the litter issue in their communities. "Congratulations to Hilltop Primary School for their win. 'A huge part of Spring Clean is recognising those who have taken part, told us about their activities and helped us understand the depth of the problem we're facing. "But we also know that there are thousands more who don't share their efforts and have made litter picking part of their daily life. "To everyone who has played a part, however big or small, thank you for keeping Scotland beautiful." *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Euronews
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
EU countries grill Hungary on stymied Pride march, rule of law
EU ministers meeting for a General Affairs Council in Brussels have begun a hearing on rule of law in Hungary under the framework of the EU's Article 7 process, as patience wears thin over recent legal initiatives in Budapest. Viktor Orbán's government's self-styled Spring Clean includes a draft transparency law, targeting foreign-funded media and NGOs, and the ban on the Budapest Pride, which are among key concerns that set to be raised in the hearing. Ahead of the meeting, 17 member states published a joint declaration denouncing the ban on Budapest's Pride march, claiming it violates EU law. "We are highly alarmed by these developments which run contrary to the fundamental values and human dignity, freedom, equality, and respect for human rights, as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union," the declaration said. The letter recalled that new Hungarian legislation allows fines to be imposed on participants and organisers of the Pride event and will also allow for the identification of participants with AI smart camera systems. 17 countries demand that Hungary reverse the Pride march ban "We call upon Hungary to revise these measures, to ensure the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens are respected and protected, thus complying with its international obligations," it read. The declaration was signed by Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and Spain. The signatories also called on the European Commission to make full use of its rule of law toolbox if Hungary does not revise the law. Hungary's EU minister János Bóka rejected the criticism on arriving at the meeting. "There is no such thing in Hungary as a Pride ban. At today's hearing, I will explain to my colleagues the constitutional and legal framework. I hope that after this discussion, my colleagues at the table will walk out with a more nuanced view of the Hungarian legislation," Bóka said. EU members are losing patience with Hungary The Article 7 process began in 2018 when the European Parliament called for Hungary to be sanctioned because of alleged rule of law violations, especially in the field of justice and media freedom. The Council has discussed the issue seven times subsequently, but has never taken the step of triggering the next stage in the Article 7 process, in which member states would be called on vote on sanctions. Critics also fear a draft Hungarian bill titled "Transparency of Public Life', which was tabled in the Budapest parliament on 13 May, would offer the Hungarian government sweeping powers to crack down on the press and critical voices in civil society. The European Commission has asked Hungary to withdraw the bill, saying that if adopted, "it would constitute a serious breach of EU principles and law", according to a Commission spokesperson. Sweden's EU minister voiced concerns about backsliding on the rule of law, transparency, and "a crackdown on civil society and LGBTI rights" as she entered the meeting. "We have had seven years, seven hearings, and I will be very clear today that this cannot just continue unless we see a completely new attitude from the Hungarian side today, I think its time that we consider the next steps, as this is getting pointless to continue," Sweden's EU minister, Jessica Rosencrantz, told reporters. "The first phase of the Article 7 process has now been ongoing for a relatively long time, so no one can accuse us of not being patient," German EU minister Gunther Kirchbaum told reporters, adding "at a certain point we have to make up our minds about what is next". "I can tell you that my colleagues' patience is disappearing day by day," he said. Hungary's Bóka said that political hysteria surrounded the meeting but added that Hungary was ready for dialogue. On Monday, an EU diplomat said that ministers will not call for the deployment of sanctions under Article 7 against Hungary on Tuesday because they lack the requisite majority. With an existing temporary trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine set to expire on 5 June, member states have registered discontent with the European Commission's inconclusive negotiation of a future arrangement with the war-torn state. Tensions surfaced during a closed-door session of the EU's monthly gathering of agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday, during which member states' representatives expressed frustration with the Commission for its failure to clinch a deal with Ukraine, despite having had ample time to do so, two people familiar with the meeting told Euronews. Several ministers said they were unhappy that a stabler and permanent agreement with Ukraine was not reached, according to one of the people. Others emphasised that finding a long-term solution for trade liberalisation with Ukraine should have been a priority for the Commission, which holds exclusive competence for negotiating trade deals, another person said. Currently, trade between the EU and Ukraine is governed by Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs), which temporarily suspend all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports. These measures were introduced in response to Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. However, the ATM scheme is set to expire next week and cannot be renewed again, having already been extended once. With its expiry looming, the Commission has been working unsuccessfully since late 2024 to establish a formal replacement. 'It's no secret that talks between the Commission and Ukraine are underway. Let's say they are still at an initial stage,' Polish agriculture minister, Czesław Siekierski, who currently holds the chairmanship of the EU Agrifish Council, acknowledged during a subsequent press conference. To bridge the gap left by the stalled trade talks, the Commission has prepared transitional arrangements that will apply until a review of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) is completed and a revised deal is ready. These interim measures were approved last week as a precaution by EU ambassadors. Siekierski noted that the new measures, which replicate the terms of Ukraine's pre-war association agreement with the EU, are 'much less definite' than the ATM scheme regarding limits on Ukrainian agricultural imports. In the meeting, the Commission reiterated its intention to move away from temporary solutions and establish a more stable trading framework. 'Farmers and stakeholders on both sides need predictability to plan ahead,' EU agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen told ministers, according to briefing notes shared by Commission spokespersons. Hansen added that the Commission is in active contact with Ukrainian officials to swiftly reach a balanced agreement that reflects the interests of both sides. Agriculture remains the most sensitive issue. The ATM arrangement has triggered backlash in several EU countries, particularly in France and Poland, where farmers have protested against the surge in Ukrainian imports since trade barriers were lifted. On this point, the Commissioner reassured ministers that the transitional measures do not introduce new quotas or increase allowed import volumes for Ukrainian products. The meeting began with an address from Vitalii Koval, Ukraine's minister of agrarian policy and food, who urged the EU to swiftly agree on a new free trade mechanism and find a balanced solution 'based on numbers', according to an EU source. Koval reminded EU ministers that Ukraine is fighting to uphold European values and highlighted the recent toll of three consecutive nights of Russian attacks, which have severely strained the country's infrastructure. In his presentation, Koval underlined how critical the agricultural sector is to Ukraine. The EU source noted that Ukraine's agriculture is seven times more significant to the economy of Ukraine than any EU country, with one in five Ukrainians employed in the sector. Koval also cited a 20.5% drop in available farmland due to occupation, and referenced World Bank figures showing Ukraine has suffered €83.9 billion in agricultural damages and losses due to the war. While the Commission's current position is to reduce the market access levels previously allowed under the ATMs, Ukraine hopes to retain the same degree of access to the EU market. Koval pointed out that 66% of Ukraine's imports come from the EU and argued that if Ukraine were an EU member state, it would rank ninth in terms of agricultural exports within the bloc. He also said he has been holding talks with EU farmers' associations to address concerns about the high volume of Ukrainian imports, as part of Ukraine's push to secure a future agreement with the Commission.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What's happening in the Basin this weekend?
Permian Basin, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – For the last weekend in April, there are a variety of events happening in the Basin. The Black Chamber of Commerce is hosting a community 'Spring Clean.' Event organizers are asking participants to wear comfortable clothes and bring a water bottle. Cleaning supplies and trash bags will be provided along with lunch. The event starts at 9:00 a.m at Woodson Boys and Girls Club. Odessa YMCA's Annual Kid's Healthy Day will be at Mike Neely Park. Along with games and activities and live entertainment, there will also be health and wellness resources available. This completely free event will begin Saturday, at 9:00 a.m through 12 p.m. Vintage Deluxe is partnering with ODT Vintage for a 'Trade Day' pop-up. Over 20 vendors will be present along with more activities for guests to enjoy. Family and Friends are welcomed to join starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Red Dirt BBQ and Music Festival made its way from Tyler, Texas and will be in Midland. The festival will present an array of BBQ selections along with the band, Red Dirt, performing live entertainment. The location is near Momentum Bank Ball Park and ticket information can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
