Current Petitions

PE986, by Gillian Purves, on behalf of Woodlands primary school in Cumbernauld, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to take greater action to protect the public and domestic and non-domestic birds and animals from the dangers of broken glass; to promote the use of plastic bottles as an alternative to glass; and to introduce a refundable deposit scheme aimed at reducing the levels of broken glass in public places.At its meeting on 27 September 2006, the committee agreed to seek views on the petition from North Lanarkshire Council, COSLA, Keep Scotland Beautiful, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Scottish Executive and to seek the petitioners' views on the responses. Those responses have been received and circulated, and the petitioners sent us a letter yesterday welcoming them and looking for a nationwide anti-litter strategy.

The children of Woodlands primary school brought this good petition to the committee. It is interesting to see all the responses that have been received. Some of them tackle the issue of litter and state that the environment would be improved if we did not have glass lying around. However, the petitioners were concerned about the dangers of broken glass, particularly in relation to non-domestic birds and animals. In that regard, I should point out that, from reading local newspapers and talking to people, it is clear that there is another dimension to the issue. It has been pointed out to me that broken glass poses a danger to people as well. We have not written to the people in the hospitality sector and the people who produce whisky, beer, lemonade and so on. Could we keep the petition open? It concerns an issue that is bigger than that of litter and it would be useful to examine the danger that is posed by broken glass. Someone who is in the middle of a fight in the town of Lochgelly, for example, might pick up a broken bottle and slash somebody across the face with it. Because of such issues, it would be useful to keep the petition open so that we could consider the bigger picture and ask for the views of those who produce drinks across Scotland.

Are members happy that we should write to such organisations? Of course, we would need to identify the relevant organisations.

We could write to Patrick Brown, who is from an organisation that I have forgotten the name of.

We can get in touch with the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, which might be able to comment on the issue.

Yes, that would be useful. It would also be good to get in touch with an organisation representing the non-licensed drink sector.

Do members agree to write to those organisations, once we have identified them?Members indicated agreement.

We should also let the petitioners know about the progress that has been made. It will be encouraging for the schoolchildren to see that there has been some progress and that their petition is making a wee bit of a difference.

Will we do that?Members indicated agreement.