A family go litter-picking daily and start teaching their eco-warrior kids the ropes aged just ONE – so it becomes “a way of life”.
Mike Scotland, 33, began litter-picking in his 20s to help strengthen his mental health after experiencing suicidal thoughts.
The dad-of-three, from Aberdeen, Scotland, began spotting rubbish everywhere he went – so started going out with a grabber and bin bags to clear it up.
The heath and safety advisor eventually launched a local weekly group, Community Clean Up.
Mike began taking son, Lucio, now six, litter-picking when he was just one, and daughter Milania, now four, then followed suit.
Now Mike and his whole family – including partner Nikki Dalton, 34, a health and safety assurance manager, and their youngest daughter, Lexi, 16 months, take their litter-picking equipment out with them wherever they go.
Even little Lexi comes along on her tricycle – and Mike has no doubts she’ll take it up soon too.
Mike estimates they have picked up “thousands” of bin bags worth of waste as a family – and they have no plans to stop.
Mike said: “We pick up litter everywhere we go – when we go to the park, we pick up the rubbish we see before going to play.
“I recently took Lucio to football with Milania and we spotted some rubbish in the car park – we collected it all before Lucio went to play.
“People do thank us but the kids have always done it – they don’t really know why they’re being thanked.
“They know littering is the wrong thing to do and picking it up is the right thing to do.
“They don’t need an incentive or encouragement – it’s just our routine and a way of life for us.”
After struggling with his mental health, Mike found himself by the bank of the River Don in his hometown of Aberdeen in 2019.
He was surrounded by litter – and ready to take his own life – before luckily a well-timed incoming phone call snapped him out of it.
He said: “After that, whenever I’d walk past that area where I’d wanted to end my life, I felt like a dark shadow was haunting me.
“One day, I took three black bags and went down to the riverside and just started picking up litter.”
One day someone on a bike asked him what he was doing and ended up joining in.
The next day, Mike started the Community Clean Up group – and over the next few months, the group gathered weekly to clear the river of rubbish.
It became a passion for Mike – who loved doing his bit for the planet.
When he had children, he was quick to get them on board with it – and they took to it like naturals.
Mike said: “I remember taking my Lucio to the park when he was 18 months old, and he spotted an empty bottle of Lucozade.
“Even then, he went and picked it up and put it in the bin.
“Ever since then, he’s always done litter picking.
“One of the things we used to do as father and son was go out dressed as Batman and ‘fight the litter’.
“It’s a great way to get him outside and teach him about the environment.”
Now, all the family-of-five take their litter-picking equipment wherever they go, so they can step into action any moment.
Mike said he even keeps some of the things he finds on the floor – such as crisp packets from as far back as the 1960s.
He uses it to teach his children the importance of binning your waste – as “the choice you make today could affect someone in 60 years time.”
And he said by raising his children – even his youngest – with such an eco-conscious mindset means litter-picking is natural to them.
He said: “It’s a way of life for us and for them. It’s just our routine.
“Kids know what they’re not supposed to do, but if you tell a kid not to do something, it makes them want to do it – like littering.
“If you educate them on why littering isn’t good for the environment or animals, they understand the bigger picture.”
