An Edinburgh local has hit back after his neighbourhood has been littered with neon-coloured feathers.
Over the last two weeks, Beyonce, Harry Styles, and Bruce Springsteen have put on huge shows at Murrayfield where tens of thousands of fans attended each night. While many have been overjoyed that such big stars brought their tours to Edinburgh, locals have been left frustrated with the mess it has left behind.
In the wake of the gigs, neon-coloured feathers from feather boas have been strewn across the streets and as the wind picks up, they are being blown into the Water of Leith and green spaces.
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Robbie Calvert, 35, from Shandon is now at his wit's end. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, he told of how he opened his front door on Thursday, June 1 to find feathers scattered around his neighbourhood, nearly a week after Harry Styles' show where much of the audience was dressed in the accessory.
Passionate about the environment, Robbie said he feels 'upset' and 'frustrated' over the clean-up operation after the events.
He said: "I just feel really upset about it. Over August the clean up is brilliant but with these smaller events, it just seems unregulated and there is no plan of action. These feathers are hard to clean up too and they're being blown everywhere, which makes them harder to clean up but they will have a huge effect on the environment once they get into the water and our green spaces.
"It can harm wildlife and if things like this keep going without a clean-up plan in place, it could turn into an environmental crisis for animals and people. It's sad.
"These feather boas are like disposable vapes, I don't think they should be sold."
Robbie added: "I just feel angry, frustrated, and let down, to be honest. I don't have any problems with the concerts and events, they are so important for the economy and for the city. It's great they happened. I could hear the gigs from my house, it wasn't bad. It's just after these things happen, the local community is left with the trash people leave.
"I've noticed there to be more rubbish recently, probably with the warm weather and more people are out and about. So I think when I saw all the mess today and I just had this sense of hopelessness."
On June 1, local councilors sat and discussed the aftermath of the past eventful weeks.
Cllr Fiona Bennett who covers the Corstorphine and Murrayfield ward said: "I have equal concern and having looked into the matter it seems that the Council is limited in terms of preventing the sale of the products; this would be a decision for the Scottish Government.
"I therefore sought a response in relation to the clean up."
Cllr Bennett asked Cllr Cammy Day: “Constituents from my ward have raised concern following recent high profile events at Murrayfield Stadium such as the sale of single use plastic products, for example, feather boas on the run up to the Harry Styles concert. Unfortunately, plastic feathers have proven to be an extremely difficult item for any clean up operation and many have found their way into the Water of Leith, and other areas with wildlife that we are trying to protect.
"What reassurance can the leader provide in terms of ensuring that a swift clean up operation is planned in anticipation of similar events when we have prior knowledge of what items are being sold and will inevitably be discarded."
She said: "I am very pleased that Cllr Day was keen to look into the matter to establish what the Council can do."
Cllr Scott Arthur Environment Convener said: “I’m proud that Edinburgh is hosting some of the world’s biggest acts this summer, but I accept they can result in some localised problems. Our dedicated waste teams and other council colleagues always work with the organisers of concerts and other events of this scale to make sure we have detailed plans in place so they go as smoothly as they can so everyone attending has a great time with as little disruption as possible to residents living nearby.
“This includes extensive planning to make sure litter is removed as quickly as possible after each event. In this case our plan covered the Murrayfield, Roseburn, Balgreen and Haymarket areas and the teams who work 24/7 did a fantastic job clearing the area of debris after the event. After the last concert at Murrayfield in this series we’ll be looking again to do a final deep clean of the area.”
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