Starting today, this clean-up campaign, which is expected to take around two weeks, will cover 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

And over the next two weekends the teams will also be targetting the following roads in the Cambuslang and Rutherglen areas (25 - 26 March and 1 - 2 April):

• Hallside Road, Calder Road and Manse Brae
• Gilbertfield Road and East Greenlees Road
• Cathkin 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.