Tak It Hame is our campaign that says what it means: encouraging the hill walking, climbing and mountaineering community, and others, to reduce litter in our hills.
We encourage everyone taking to the hills and climbing the crags to be responsible for taking all their own litter home.
We can all think about the choices we make when buying, consuming and disposing of food and drink items that we take along with us. We know the story: reduce packaging, reuse bags and bottles, recycle all that can be recycled.
Our message is - If we don't do it, who will?
TakItHame bags are designed to be kept in your rucksack, so you have something to put your litter in every time you head to the hills, to take it home for recycling or disposal in your household waste. Designed to be used multiple times, you can simply wash and dry the bag and put it back in your rucksack for the next time.
The bags are made from potato starch, so when they reach the end of their lifespan, you can either use them in your food waste bin or into your home compost bin (remember they are not plastic, so please don't put them in your plastic recycling!).
How to get your #TakItHame bags:
We ask you to show others too! Tell the world that we can all do something to keep our environment clean and safe by:
And this message applies locally as well as up in the hills, so you can make your own local area a nicer, cleaner place as well.
Only do what you assess is safe and feel comfortable doing – do not put yourself or others at risk.
There are three key things to remember:
Microplastics in the environment
It is becoming increasing clear now that some plastic materials are not biodegradable. They include additives which lead to the disintegration of the plastic material into tiny fragments that persist in the environment indefinitely. These contribute to harmful microplastic pollution and negatively affect the recycling of conventional plastic. Examples of such items include carrier bags, agricultural mulch films, plastic bottles, blister packaging, labels and caps.
Keep Scotland Beautiful state that “single-use plastic items are extremely damaging to our environment, blighting our landscapes as litter, polluting our rivers and seas, and contributing to higher greenhouse gas emissions.”
Our challenge is changing some of our habits to reduce the amount of taking single-use plastic we take with us into the hills. Carrying snacks and drinks in washable, reusable containers makes us think about what we eat and drink. Making our own food and snacks before we go takes a bit of planning and time, but is a great way to save money and reduce packaging.
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ClimbScotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
Mountaineering Scotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
