An initiative urging people to help address Scotland’s ‘litter emergency’ is calling on Helensburgh and Lomond locals to get involved.

Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful’s annual Spring Clean – known as #SpringCleanScotland - takes place from Friday, March 15 to Sunday, April 28.

Two clean-up efforts in the area are taking place during this time, with one planned for Cardross on Thursday, April 18 and another for Helensburgh on Saturday, April 20.

The Scotland-wide event hopes to inspire action that will reverse the environmental deterioration of the country's neighbourhoods.

Chief executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, Barry Fisher, said: “We’re so excited for #SpringCleanScotland 2024 to begin this week, and it would be fantastic for as many people as possible from Argyll and Bute to get involved.

“We know 85 per cent of people agree that they want to see more efforts to prevent litter in their area. It starts with us.

“No longer can we wait for someone else to pick up the litter we might walk past every day – so we are inviting everyone to organise a litter pick with friends, family, workmates or alone, or to join an event registered on our Clean Up Scotland map.

“Every action, however small, will help us reverse the litter emergency.”

The #SpringCleanScotland 2024 mass litter pick brings together people from across Scotland to help tackle our country’s litter emergency.

Last year, more than 30,000 people across Scotland rolled up their sleeves and, equipped with litter pickers, bags, and gloves, made a difference to their neighbourhoods.

This year, Keep Scotland Beautiful are inviting people to get involved and contribute to an even bigger national response which aims to fix the damage done to Scotland's environment.

In Scotland, litter significantly impacts the cleanliness of 75 per cent of streets and roads.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is working in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy and Keep Wales Tidy to support the Great British Spring Clean.

To see the full map of clean-up efforts, visit: www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/clean-up-scotland-map.