SHOPS will be asked to carry out litter patrols around Princes Street under plans being considered by council chiefs.

Officials have been asked to investigate ways of getting retailers such as Marks and Spencer and Sainsburys to help clean up the street and the gardens.

It would include shops "sponsoring" extra bins and sending their own staff out on patrols to pick up litter.

The initiative would build on litter patrols of the Princes Street area already mounted by the McDonald's fast-food chain, and the idea has been backed by traders.

Rob Winter, chairman of the Princes Street Association, said: "I would say on the whole Princes Street itself is quite clean, but there are problems in Princes Street Gardens and on the top of Princes Mall – particularly during the summer months.

"Anything that can be done to reduce litter will be warmly welcomed by our members, who will be keen to play their part.

"Raising awareness among their customers is an obvious first step. I think there is a lot of scope for getting the anti-litter message across to people as they shop."

Although the cleanliness of the Capital's streets recently achieved its highest rating in the Keep Scotland Beautiful CIMS monitoring system, inspectors still found problems existing in the city centre.

The overall city score was 72 but the city centre grade was 65, with two areas graded as D, which means they had a major accumulation of rubbish.

Leith councillor Gordon Munro, who put the idea forward to the council's environment committee, said: "It is a real problem in the city centre and something in which the retailers have a part to play.

"Shops are the source of a lot of the mess in Princes Street and should be interested in helping out in this respect.

"It is obviously not just up to the shops, but I think they can follow the lead of the likes of McDonald's and pitch in and do their bit."

Businesses in the city centre are currently considering a £250,000 package of improvements to the heart of the Capital which they would pay for themselves.

Among the proposals under consideration is for a team of specialist cleaning wardens who would target specific problems such as chewing gum. It is estimated there are 35 pieces for every square metre of pavement.

Andrea McHugh, the city's head of environment, said: "Every day an average of 50 tonnes of litter is collected in Edinburgh through on-street bin collections and street cleaning.

"This is a staggering amount and we must all work together to encourage people to put their litter in one of the 3600 on-street bins located across the city.

"We will be looking into how these stores could assist us in reducing the amount of rubbish that is left in public spaces.

"Protecting our local environment is a major priority for us, as I'm sure it is for these businesses as well."

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