‘LOVE It Like A Local’ is the slogan for the anti-litter campaign that was launched a few weeks ago by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

I don’t know if the week-long Keep Helensburgh Clean litter-picking initiative in Helensburgh, which starts this weekend under the auspices of the Plastic Free Helensburgh group, has any similarly snappy slogan to go with the campaign name, but it’s a sentiment I’m sure will be endorsed in the town.

That National Park campaign slogan is clearly aimed not at the people who live within the park’s boundaries, but at the thousands of people who use it as a place of recreation and relaxation throughout the year.

As ‘locals’ it would be nice to think that we’re all pre-disposed to look after the place where we live. And most of us are.

But sadly, whether it’s in Helensburgh or elsewhere, not everybody is as switched on to the issue as they might be.

READ MORE: Your town needs you: Keep Helensburgh Clean anti-litter campaign starts this weekend

I've heard it said that dropping litter is not that big a thing, because it keeps people employed to ensure our streets and pavements stay tidy – an argument with which I have no end of problems.

But I doubt there are many folk living in Helensburgh, or any of the nearby villages, who genuinely don’t care about the community in which they hang their hat, to the point of flagrantly leaving piles of litter lying about the place.

But whether it’s a crisp packet, a cardboard coffee cup or a cigarette butt, it all mounts up.

Having been born and brought up in Glasgow, I had an innate suspicion when I was younger of those slightly odd people at the eastern end of the M8, and the way they spent their days. So I remember feeling a faint sense of disloyalty when I first realised how clean and tidy Edinburgh's streets looked, in comparison to many of those in my native city.

READ MORE: Plea for action to tackle the shame of Helensburgh's seafront litter

While it is lazy to resort to blaming the litter we see in Helensburgh solely on people who visit, there’s no denying that litter is most noticeable the town after busy weekends. And there is no denying, either, that in a day-trip destination such as ours, litter bin provision will sometimes struggle to keep up with demand, no matter how hard the authorities might try.

Plastic Free Helensburgh itself is not organising a single large-scale event over the coming days, because of social distancing concerns. But if you do decide to head out and spend an hour or two picking litter up off the streets, you’ll have their – and our – undying respect and gratitude.

The short-term benefits are obvious. In the longer run, the more people who tidy up the town, and the more often they do it, the more visitors and residents alike will see that Helensburgh is a place that cares about how it looks and how it presents itself to the outside world, and will think a bit more about their own behaviour while they're here. And that can only be a good thing.

READ MORE: Catch up with all the latest news stories from around Helensburgh and Lomond here