Having recently returned from a long trip to the US I was immediately reminded by the amount of litter and other rubbish in the streets in Glasgow. The US (at least the parts which we visited) appeared almost litter free promoting a sense of pride in the area and of security. Not only were the streets cleaned, and bins emptied but one got the strong impression that littering was not only a criminal offence but a huge social no-no – akin to peeing on a gravestone.

In contrast many parts of Glasgow however (including Strathbungo) appears plagued with litter and people’s household rubbish in the street. Part of the problem is the Council’s policy of removing everyone’s rubbish left in the street which just encourages people to leave more not bothering to take their own rubbish to the nearby bin or the recycle centre. But there appears also a sense of resignation to the problem with a reluctance to challenge people who leave their rubbish in the street – for I can’t believe for a moment that people only litter in the dead of night when no one else is looking.

To help clean up Strathbungo and to keep it clean let’s all commit to a) not littering or leaving our rubbish in the street or around the public bins and b) challenging anyone who does so. Just a polite, ‘sorry mate, but you seem to have forgotten this’ would do.

Don’t mess with Strathbungo.