LIKE Colin McKellar (Letters, February 27) and Iain AD Mann (Letters, February 28), it is particularly disheartening to see so much litter polluting Glasgow and its suburbs. While I appreciate the arguments from both writers as to the causes and solutions to the litter problem, I take issue with Mr Mann that it is one that our young people are largely responsible for.
While I accept that there are a number of young people who do litter our streets, it is not a problem that can be largely or solely attributed to them. Drivers stopping and opening their vehicle doors and depositing the remains of their food on the road then driving off; shoppers in supermarket car parks opening their doors and throwing the contents of their ash trays on the ground where they are parked; drivers ejecting rubbish from their cars while driving or stopped at traffic lights; adults dropping litter on pavements, and the most outrageous practice of fly tipping; all contribute to the litter problem and not just from young people.
I wholeheartedly agree with the view that parents should educate their children to be responsible in regard to litter; but this would suggest that all parents are in agreement that there is a litter problem and they have a role to play in preventing it. It is also time to see a more rigorous enforcement by the authorities of the laws relating to all the miscreants who wilfully litter our environment with appropriate penalties for them to include clearing up litter. But like Mr Mann, I won’t hold my breath on these ever happening in any meaningful way.
Ian Johnstone,
160 Orchard Park Avenue, Glasgow.
COLIN Mackellar is critical of the efforts of Glasgow City Council to keep the streets clean and tidy.
He is very complimentary of the state of the streets in Milngavie with no litter to blight the town.
This is the result of the combined efforts of the litter picking team of East Dunbartonshire Council and also the regular and continuous work by local volunteers via the community organisation Milngavie In Bloom.
The helpers in the Clean Sweep branch of this group are out on the streets every two weeks lifting litter and other debris, filling the gaps in the limited service now provided by the local council.
In addition this award-winning organisation plants up and maintains many flower-beds in the village, and also provides floral displays at the local railway station under the Adopt a Station initiative.
Some funding and other assistance is supplied by local businesses, and also grants are obtained from public bodies.
It is all too easy to blame local councils but they are cash-strapped and need to set priorities.
Some self-help can assist in addressing the issues and furthermore can engender community spirit and involvement by all ages.
Robin M Brown,
46 Buchanan Street, Milngavie.
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