New campaign fighting against Grangemouth litter

The two-week Let’s Get Grangemouth Clean initiative encourages everyone in the town to help with a clean-up between now and April 2.

I’ve never seen Grangemouth looking so bad, and especially right now when there is very little vegetation, it looks worse than ever.

We all complain about litter and wait for someone else to clean it up but I decided I can’t sit back and look at it any longer – it sickens me – so it’s time to do something about it.

I’ve started litter picking where I live and where I walk and would love to encourage others to join in.

Go outside and pick up the litter in your garden, street and in the green areas where your children play.

If everybody does just a little bit it could make a huge difference.

I’m originally from Callander and litter picking initiatives of this type are more common in rural towns than large industrial areas, but I want to see Grangemouth receiving the same TLC.

I have set up a Facebook page Let’s Get Grangemouth Clean to promote the campaign and encourage as many people as possible to spread the word.

I’ll also be reaching out to the council to see if it might be willing to donate some litter pickers, as well as contacting my local MSP with an invitation to get involved in the initiative.

I hope this is the start of something bigger. If enough people are interested I’d love to organise a big clean-up event with as many people as possible taking part.

You can find out more at www.facebook.com/GlitterCampaign.

This month also sees The Great British Spring Clean, a campaign with a simple aim – to bring people across the country together to clear up the litter that blights our towns, villages, countryside and beaches.

It aims to inspire thousands of people to get active and help clear up the rubbish that lies around us.

More information for this campaign can be found at www.keepbritaintidy.org.

As if that wasn’t enough, Keep Scotland Beautiful is also enlisting the help of schools to stop the scourge of roadside litter.

Pupils are being encouraged to enter a caption competition as part of a national week of action on roadside litter, supporting the charity’s campaign to get road users to take personal responsibility for litter.

This call to action comes as the amount of litter and flytipping impacting communities reaches its worst level in a decade.

Primary schools from across the country are being encouraged to sign up to the week, which runs from May 12 to May 20.

Georgina Massouraki, roadside litter campaign officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “This is a fun and practical way for young people to learn more about the dangers of roadside litter and we encourage everyone to sign up to take part.”

The initiative brings together government, industry, charities and the public sector in partnership to drive forward Scotland-wide programmes and raise awareness of the impact of roadside litter, as well as testing out solutions to help solve the growing problem.

You can visit www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/roadside-litter-campaign for more information.