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The scale of the build-up has prompted calls for Scottish Government help with the immediate clean-up and a longer-term plan for a village where litter has been washing ashore for decades.
Councillor Iain Shonny Paterson brought together community leaders, Argyll and Bute Council officers, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park representatives, landowner Luss Estates and local charities on 5 November. According to the Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, those at the meeting agreed that the volume of debris amounted to a local emergency and could hurt tourism beyond the village.
Can storm debris be put to use?
John Ritchie of 4c Design outlined a pilot backed by the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme and sponsored by the GRAB Trust.
It will test whether anaerobic digestion can turn organic material such as seaweed into biogas and a nutrient-rich residue with potential use as fertiliser. Plastic and wood would be separated for recovery or disposal.
The pilot would be too small to handle the waste already on the shore, the charity said. Clearing it mechanically would mean lifting and transporting large quantities of mixed material, with disposal and potential landfill costs adding to the bill.
A causeway across Loch Long?
John Urquhart, chairman of the Friends, proposed a curved causeway across the head of the loch. The charity’s idea is to intercept floating debris and carry the A83 above projected storm-surge levels, taking heavy traffic out of Arrochar. It also envisages a sheltered tidal lagoon and wetland that could provide habitat for wildlife.
The proposal brings together three problems that often get dealt with separately. Where does the rubbish end up? How does the village cope with heavy traffic? How can the shoreline adapt to rising seas? The National Park’s climate risk assessment already identifies the A83 at Arrochar as an area at risk of flooding.
Urquhart said residents had lived with the problem for decades and that Storm Boelo had brought debris ashore on a different scale. “This is a wake-up call for the politicians in Edinburgh. It is time to get a grip!”
For Arrochar, the immediate question is who will fund the work to clear the shore. The longer-term question is how to stop the same debris building up again after future storms.
