Litter plea to drivers

Renfrewshire drivers using the M8 and M898 are being urged to “give their litter a lift, and take it home”.

Over the last three years, roads body Scotland TranServ says it has removed an increasing volume of litter from the side of our motorways and slip roads that has been thrown away by motorists.

As well as the usual offenders such as takeaway rubbish, discarded drinks bottles and cans and burnt out cigarette butts, there are also larger items including beds, baths and barbecues that have been recovered from roads.

Scotland TranServ is backing Keep Scotland Beautiful’s roadside litter campaign all year round, working to identify hotspots, such as the M898 slip roads at the Spectacles Roundabout.

Carole Noble, Operations Director at Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “Our latest figures show that the amount of litter and fly- tipping in Scotland is at its worst level in a decade. We recognise that each piece of litter on our roadsides, in our parks and on our streets, was discarded by a thoughtless individual. Those who clean litter up, the road operators, local authorities’ staff and the volunteers are not to blame. Littering is illegal. We need individuals to do the right thing; to use a bin or to take their litter home.”

Andrew Adam, Scotland TranServ’s Operations Manager, added: “Roadside litter is not only a major problem for our business, it is also a costly one. Our cyclic maintenance teams work throughout the year to collect unwanted waste, carelessly thrown away by thoughtless drivers.”

Visit www . keepscotlandbeautiful.org/ roadside-litter