Following on from the Clydesdale campaign which finishes this week, the East Kilbride campaign will be targeted by our teams from Monday 13 March.

Time spent on each road will vary dependent on volumes of litter, length of the road, and weather conditions, but teams will tackle the project in the following order:

• A726 Strathaven Road
• Auldhouse Road, Sheilds Road and Burnhouse Road
• Peel Road and Carmunnock Bypass to Castlemilk roundabout
• Markethill Road and Cairnmuir Road
• Stoneymeadow Road and Flemington Road 

After these areas are completed the teams will move on to rural roads in the Larkhall, Strathaven and Stonehouse areas. This clean-up campaign is expected to take around two weeks and will target the following roads:

• A723 - Roundabout at Strathaven to Burn Road junction
• Coldstream Road
• A71 Stonehouse Bypass and A71 Canderside Toll to Stonehouse Roundabout
• A71 Ayr Road - Radstone Hotel to Ashgillhead Road
• A72 Lanark Road - Brookside Garden Centre to Cornsilloch Roundabout
• B7078 Carlisle Road - Canderside Toll to Canderwater Farm
• Candermill Road and Candermill and Marlage Road

To ensure the safety of our workforce during the clean-up programme, each road will have to be reduced to one lane at the sections being worked on between 9am and 3pm daily. However, as some could take longer than others, drivers are urged to be prepared for potential delays or to consider alternative routes.

Councillor Robert Brown, the chair of the council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee said: “It is again very disappointing that we have had to waste so much time and money clearing up rubbish that could have and should have been disposed of responsibly.

“Our teams work hard to keep our area clean of dumped litter and rubbish. But the reality is that we need everyone in our communities to help by not throwing away rubbish that should be put in road-side bins, household bins or collected and taken to any of our recycling centres.

“A minority of people seem to think the rules don’t apply to them and that they can dump litter and rubbish wherever they like. This costs the public services time and money that could be better spent on other things. Neither the council nor local communities are prepared to tolerate this, and we aim to stamp it out.

“We take our role in changing that behaviour seriously, through a combination of education, awareness-raising and enforcement.

"But we also have a duty to make sure our communities are safe, clean, and welcoming. So, while we condemn the actions of an irresponsible few, we have to take this action to improve the environment. 

“So, I apologise for any inconvenience caused during this year’s clean-up campaign and thank everyone in advance for their patience while we again carry out this time-consuming and expensive task.” 

Penalties for those caught dropping litter range from £80, while the Illegal dumping of waste carries fines from £200, as well as the potential for criminal charges and even a prison sentence for the worst offenders.