Here I was, back at Lunderston Bay in this chilled morning. The weather swayed back and forth between light rain and a bright golden sunlight that pierced through the clouds. A thick mist veiled part of the opposite shore and its rolling hills that seemed, at once, dormant and mysterious to the casual observer.

Many were those who braved the cold morning and the strong, icy coastal wind which, without a pause, assaulted them, to pick litters strewn across the sandy beach and painstakingly recorded it on paper while the agitated waters of the Clyde ebbed and flowed, unperturbed by human activity.

Familiar faces could be seen, such as Ronnie Cowan, the MP from Inverclyde and John Crowther, an Inverclyde Council member.

One could also note the presence, aside from the rangers, custodian of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park (Mike, Michael and Allan), members of the Greenock Cut Conservation volunteers.

And, in a mere two hours window, give or take a few minutes, they managed to remove and record over 6,000 pieces of litter, including 2.251 cotton buds. A feat worthy of celebration if it was not overshadowed by the sad reality that littering represents a clear and present threat to the river Clyde, our shores and the natural habitat of the Wildlife within the confines of Scotland, in general, and Inverclyde, particularly.