Moving on from the rural roads programme in the Larkhall and Strathaven areas, from Wednesday 3 April the following roads in East Kilbride will be the last in this most recent programme of rural litter picking:

• Strathaven Road
• Markethill Road and Cairnmuir Road
• Peel Road and Carmunnock Bypass
• Stoneymeadow Road and Crookedshields Road
• Shields Road and Auldhouse Road

Time spent on each road will vary dependent on volumes of litter, length of the road, and weather conditions.

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 3.30pm daily from Monday to Saturday each week.

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: “Every year, it is becoming increasingly more disappointing that so much time and money is quite literally wasted clearing up rubbish that could have and should have been disposed of responsibly.

“Our teams work hard throughout the year trying to keep our environment clear from dumped litter and rubbish.

“But given budget cuts and reduced resources to tackle this blight on our society, we need everyone in our communities to help the council with this ever-increasing problem that is caused by a minority of people who seem to think the rules don’t apply to them.

“So please, do not throw away rubbish. As our campaign says – it’s your place. Litter should always be put in road-side bins, household bins or collected and taken to any of our recycling centres.

“Litter and rubbish costs 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.