Paying for a full page advert in the Herald may not be the best use of public money but by lending its name to this the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)  is campaigning for a change that would benefit the natural environment.  That is a very welcome change in approach – even if it doesn’t appear to have been approved by the LLTNPA Board – and is very welcome. Our National Park Authorities should be a the forefront of trying to protect the natural world.

It is easy to pay for an advert, however, particularly when a body like the LLTNPA is not in a position to do anything to stop plastic from wipes entering the natural environment (apart from putting signs up at the few public toilets it manages).  If it’s serious about wanting to stop plastic, what the LLTNPA could do is call for a ban on the use of plastic tree shelters across Scotland.  That would have a far greater impact in the National Park and, what is more, the LLTNPA could use its conservation bye-law powers to enforce a ban in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs while setting an example and removing the plastic tree tubes that it has used on some of its own properties.

Update 7th March

Following this post I was contacted by John Urquhart from the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs who advised me he has surveyed the A84 by Loch Lubnaig for litter recently, had identified these tree tubes as needing to be removed and was hoping the Friends would be able to do a clear up by the end of the month.  For that, however, they need to be granted permission by the LLTNPA.  It should be a no-brainer, volunteers clearing up the mess created by the LLTNPA – watch this space!