Litter on a range of rural roads across Hamilton will be cleaned next week.
A week-long clean up of rubbish on council-owned roads will begin on January 24.
Each road will be reduced to one lane when they are worked on between 9am and 3pm, and drivers should be prepared to expect some delays or even consider different routes.
The first stretches to be cleaned will be Blantyre Farm Road and Calder Road next Monday, followed by Sydes Brae on Tuesday and Newhousemill Road on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Muttonhole Road will be cleared of litter followed by Carscallan Road on Friday.
Councillor John Anderson, chairman of the community and enterprise resources committee, said: “We are working hard to keep the area we all live in clean and free of the scourge of dumped litter and rubbish, but we need community buy-in too.
“Sadly, many of the habits that lead to litter-strewn roads, and eyesore sites of illegal dumping are ingrained, and we take our role in changing that seriously, through a combination of education, awareness-raising and enforcement.
“Nonetheless, we also have a duty to make sure that the communities in which we live are safe, clean, and welcoming.
"So, while we condemn the actions of an irresponsible few wholeheartedly, we have to take this action to improve the environment.”
He added: “Make no mistake, however, every penny and hour spent doing this is money and time lost to the council and its communities, all because a minority don’t think the rules apply to them.
"There is simply no excuse for this type of selfish and irresponsible behaviour which blights our environment and requires thousands of pounds of council funds to clear up.
“I want to say sorry to all of those who might be inconvenienced by the restrictions caused during the clean-up and thank them in advance for their patience for what should be an unnecessary task.”
The litter campaign was carried out last year on roads and more than six tonnes of rubble and three tonnes of litter were collected.
A range of items that were cleaned up are accepted at council household waste recycling centres including toilers, paint tins and ironing boards and some dangerous items such as gas canisters, oil drums and tyres were also picked up.
Last year’s six days of cleaning cost the council around £8000 and the teams filled over 300 bags of illegally dumped litter.
Charges for those dropping litter range from £80 while a penalty of £200 is imposed on those dumping illegal waste.
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