Volunteers from local community group Erskine Community Garden were joined by Police Scotland’s Youth Volunteers as they tackled discarded litter in one of Renfrewshire’s top beauty spots.

In the shadow of the Erskine Bridge, more than thirty volunteers joined forces to clear the sand and surrounding areas of litter as they showed their support for Renfrewshire’s Big Spring Clean events.

Organiser Heather Clisset, Erskine Community Garden, said: “This was the fourth litter pick organised by Erskine Community Garden this year already and we had around thirty people aged six to sixty, and even some dogs, taking part, as well as the wonderful Police Scotland Youth Volunteers.

Erskine Beach Litter pick volunteers

“The Big Spring Clean is a great way of getting involved in helping make a difference not just to the local community, but the wider community of Renfrewshire as even though we are working as teams in different towns, we’re part of a bigger picture working to make Renfrewshire cleaner and more attractive to live and work.”

More than 50 community clean ups have been arranged throughout April as part of the Big Spring Clean by community groups, schools, businesses and even lone volunteers.

Part of the wider Team Up to Clean Up campaign, it aims to encourage local people to take pride in their area and change the behaviour of those who think it is acceptable to drop litter.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “We’re working hard as a council to match the fantastic work that our communities are undertaking with our increased programme of road sweeping, gully cleaning and litter picking.

“We want to improve the cleanliness of Renfrewshire which is why we’ve made such a significant investment in this campaign over the next five years and it outlines our commitment to making a difference.

“The work carried out by the team in Erskine is brilliant and there are groups and volunteers across Renfrewshire who are doing inspiring things to make their communities better.

“We’ll continue to strive to make Renfrewshire a brighter, more attractive place to live, work and visit and we’re delighted to have the support of our communities to achieve this.”

The Team Up to Clean Up campaign has benefitted from a £2.5million investment in Renfrewshire’s local environment which has seen an increased programme of road sweeping, drain clearing, litter picking and an enhanced Rapid Response Team.

The investment has also facilitated local communities to undertake litter picks by providing them with gloves, litter pickers, bags and hoops, as well as the support of the council’s Wardens Service and StreetScene team who remove the collected rubbish at the end.

All interested volunteers are invited to any of the arranged litter picks and are free to turn up on the day to take part, as well as being able to arrange their own by contacting the council directly.

For more information on Renfrewshire’s Big Spring Clean, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/BigSpringClean2019 or call 0300 300 1375, or for the campaign, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/TeamUptoCleanUp

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Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X