Bruck pickers will be out in force for 30th Voar Redd Up

Thousands of volunteers are gearing up for the 30th annual Voar Redd Up this weekend –  ready to clear beaches, coastlines and roadsides of bruck.

Organised by Shetland Amenity Trust the litter collected will be sorted to recover recyclable waste before the rest is taken to the council’s rubbish dump at Gremista.

The trust’s environmental improvement project officer, Sita Goudie, said the level of community participation continues to impress.

“The success of Da Voar Redd Up relies on the hard work and commitment of its volunteers and it is always great to see every generation taking part,” she said. “The Shetland community should be very proud of what they achieve. When I speak to representatives of other communities and countries, they are incredibly impressed that over 20 per cent of our population volunteer their time year on year and have collected nearly 1,800 tonnes of bruck to date.”

Waste collected by volunteers over the years has ranged from local litter to rubbish from as far afield as Russia, Egypt, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Greenland.

Groups are reminded to secure the bruck they have gathered and to complete and return their Redd Up survey.

Ms Goudie added: “While we have two teams which gather the bruck from around Shetland, they do have a lot of ground to cover. Therefore, please secure your bruck to make sure it does not blow around and, if your bags are not picked up within a few days, please contact the trust to tell us where the bags are located.

“Also, please remember to complete and submit your survey form following your redd up, it not only helps us to gather data on the volume and type of bruck gathered but also secure funding to continue this invaluable initiative.”

Surveys can be submitted online at www.shetlandamenity.org/da-voar-redd-up-survey.

Although this weekend is the main focus for the redd up it will continue over several weeks and the trust urged motorists to be extra careful. “As there will be many volunteers out on the roadsides, we would like to remind road users to take care and slow down when approaching volunteers,” said Ms Goudie.

The trust would like to remind registered groups that there are many packs still awaiting collection at the trust offices, Garthspool, Lerwick and that their offices close for the weekend at 4pm on Friday.