​The Scottish Islands Federation’s Marine Litter Working Group (SIF-MLWG) is thrilled to announce a significant new funding award from the Highland and Island Environment Foundation (HIEF), marking an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to address marine litter across Scotland’s inhabited islands.

For the first time in HIEF’s history, the Foundation has awarded a three-year unrestricted grant, totalling £60,000, to support SIF-MLWG’s work. This funding will provide vital stability and the flexibility to allow the MLWG to direct resources where they are needed most to respond effectively to the scale and complexity of the marine litter challenge facing island communities.

Long-standing partnership and shared ambition

This award builds on a strong and long-standing relationship between HIEF and SIF. HIEF has previously supported the MLGW through two project-restricted grants:

• Marine litter data collection (November 2022 – £14,270)

• Marine litter drone surveys (September 2024 – £7,500)

In addition, through funding provided to the Marine Conservation Society via the Conservation Collective x Depeche Mode x Hublot partnership, HIEF has indirectly supported SIF-MLWG’s marine litter data collection work in both 2024 and 2025.

SIF-MLWG are deeply grateful to HIEF for their continued support, confidence and faith in our work. Their willingness to invest in an unrestricted, multi-year grant demonstrates a clear commitment to long-term, community-led solutions and recognises the importance of sustained action to influence policy and protect Scotland’s marine environment.

Looking ahead: priorities for 2026

Building on the strong foundations established through previous initiatives, SIF-MLWG has an ambitious programme of activity planned for 2026. Supported by this funding award from HIEF, and subject to the outcome of additional funding applications currently under consideration and funds already secured, the MLWG will focus on the following priorities:

• Skills-Sharing and Networking Event: Building on the success of the 2025 event, the MLWG will host a further skills-sharing and networking event in February. This will bring together island communities, partner organisations and key stakeholders to share best practice, strengthen collaboration and build long-term capacity for marine litter action. This is supported by a grant from Sea Changers. 

• Island Candidate OSPAR Monitoring Sites (COMS) / Island Surveyor Network: Working in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society to encourage and support the establishment of a representative network of OSPAR beach litter monitoring sites across Scotland’s island groups together with an Island Surveyor Network. 

• Continued and Enhanced Data Collection: The ongoing collection of robust, comparable data on the quantity, typologies and likely sources of beach litter across the Scottish islands, with a particular emphasis on improving understanding of litter arising from fishing and aquaculture activities. 

• Growth of the Beach Litter Recycling Programme: Coordinating volunteer-led beach cleaning activity in early spring 2026, in collaboration with partners including Scottish Coastal Clean Up and In the Same Boat, and through a recycling partnership with Keep Britain Tidy’s Ocean Recovery Project. This work is supported with a grant from the PebbleTrust.

• Academic Collaborations: Continued collaboration with academic partners to strengthen community-led responses to marine litter. This includes participation in a University of Loughborough–led EPSRC Network+ project on participatory approaches; a UArctic networking project connecting Arctic and sub-Arctic researchers to improve understanding, education, and reporting on marine litter through shared learning and workshops; and the APEX project led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the Scottish Association of Marine Science, funded by the Royal Society, exploring innovative approaches to waste and ocean literacies.

• Policy Development and Influence: Strengthening the evidence base to inform and support the next iteration of Scotland’s Marine Litter Strategy, ensuring that the experiences and data from island communities are clearly reflected.

 

Together, these activities will help to demonstrate the scale and nature of the marine litter challenge facing Scotland’s inhabited islands, while developing practical, replicable models for community-led action that can be sustained over the long term.

Once again, we extend our sincere thanks to HIEF for their long-standing support and trust in the MLWG’s work. This funding represents a crucial investment in island-led solutions and will enable us to continue working collaboratively towards cleaner, healthier seas for Scotland’s islands and beyond.