Take pride in where you live

THE revamp of the Waterfront has been a magnificent boost to the look and feel of Dundee which was tired and run-down when I first came here 13 years ago.

Unfortunately, what hasn’t been addressed is some areas around the city are overflowing with litter and are utterly disgusting.

Like many of us, I have spent a lot of time walking in my local area and I have become increasingly appalled. It would appear residents don’t care about the state of the place they live.

I have reported four times since October flytipping at Middleton Wood and Carrot Hill and now more rubbish has been tipped at the wood.

On Berwick Drive there must be about 5,000 plastic bottles, 1,000 beer cans and 100 vodka bottles as well as thousands of cans, plastic bags, takeaway boxes etc, lying in the hedgerows and beside the path.

The area around Braeview Academy is particularly bad. There are tyres in the river on Ballumbie Drive and on the opposite side of the road there’s even a car windscreen dumped in the trees. There’s traffic cones, furniture, bikes – you name it. The “green space” by Ashkirk Gardens is also covered in cans, bottles, etc.

I am fairly confident Dundee City Council’s response to why these areas aren’t being tidied up will include phrases such as “under resourced”, “under funded” and “overstretched”.

I’m happy to organise a litter pick, but this doesn’t really rectify the issue. We need to stop reacting to the problem and start creating a culture where people don’t turn a blind eye and become proud of the place they live.

JAMES LAMONT