Good Samaritan litter picker clears up over 8kg of rubbish from Edinburgh beauty spot in just one trip

The Scotsman clears up rubbish in nearby spots of the capital in his spare time and set to work yesterday on Corstorphine Hill. Enjoyed as a popular spot for walkers, dog-walkers and joggers, the hill has also become something of a hotspot for litter.

Armed with his usual litter picker and binbag, the kindhearted local was left in disbelief at the end of his efforts, having collected a whopping 8.5kg of litter from the area – with some even sporting best-before dates as far back as 15 years ago.

The mess was made up mostly of discarded litter such as plastic wrappers, bottles and bags but in amongst the detritus the litter picker also encountered smashed bottles. A lot of the litter had been left sitting for days or weeks, buried underneath leaves and soil, but the oldest debris astonishingly dated back to 2009.

Sharing his bittersweet efforts to social media yesterday he said: “A litter-pick this morning on Corstorphine Hill (again). Very sad to see the amount of rubbish, often out of reach and lots trying its hardest to become one with nature, it seems... Oldest 'best before date' spotted today May 2, 2009, the year when Bitcoin was launched.”

His post received dozens of likes and comments from locals who applauded his community-minded work.

One user wrote: “Oh my god that is terrible.” Another replied: “Oh, wow. Great job. I have such bushes too and then I found out by a little scratching on the surface, that in the ground the real s**t happens. I have to clean up landfills in two woods.”

Story: NewsX/Deadline News