LAST week North Ayrshire Councillors unanimously supported an SNP motion lodged by Dalry & West Kilbride SNP Councillor Joy Brahim committing the local authority to support Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Roadside Litter campaign.

The motion called on the council to encourage drivers across North Ayrshire to “give their litter a lift” by conducting an ongoing publicity campaign, exploring options to optimise the presence and location of roadside bins and monitoring roadside litter levels.

It furthermore called for the council to, in line with the SNP Scottish Government Litter Strategy, support ongoing efforts to strengthen legislation in order to remove barriers to enforcement in relation to littering from vehicles by shifting responsibility to the vehicle of the owner.

Cllr Brahim commented: “I am delighted that North Ayrshire Council has unanimously resolved to become part of Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Roadside Litter Campaign and was chuffed to learn during the meeting that officers have recently started working on launching the council’s own campaign in this regard.

“With a staggering 50 tonnes of litter hitting Scottish roads every month, it is clear that a co-ordinated effort is needed to tackle this problem and rather than relying on fantastic volunteers who litter-pick across North Ayrshire every week, we need to focus on prevention.

“After all, we all want North Ayrshire to be as appealing and environmentally healthy as possible for residents and visitors alike.