Plea to cut down on roadside littering

Scotland TranServ is asking Carluke, Lanark and Lesmahagow drivers using the M74 to give their litter a lift, and take it home.
Drivers are being asked to cut down on roadside litter.Drivers are being asked to cut down on roadside litter.
Drivers are being asked to cut down on roadside litter.

Over the last three years, Scotland TranServ operatives have removed an increasing volume of litter from the side of our motorways and slip roads that has been carelessly thrown away by motorists. In 2015/16 that figure was 95 tonnes, in 2016/17 it rose to 98 tonnes, and in 2017/18 it was a staggering 112 tonnes.

As well as the usual offenders such as takeaway trash, 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 our roads.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Scotland TranServ is backing Keep Scotland Beautiful’s (KSB) roadside litter campaign all year round, and working with the organisation to identify hotspots, such as the M74 at Junctions 9.

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 recognize 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.”

Scotland TranServ works with local authorities across South West Scotland to address the litter blight. TranServ’s operatives tidy unwanted trash from motorway verges under their contracts whilst this duty sits with councils for the remaining trunk roads and local roads.

Andrew Adam, Scotland TranServ’s Operations Manager said: “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. It’s a major headache, often requiring lane closures and putting our operatives at risk as lorries and cars speed past just a few metres away. Ultimately the responsibility is with drivers to properly dispose of their rubbish.”