Lanarkshire man accused of breaking the law while litter picking
Craig Ritchie thought he was going a good deed when the incident happened last week.
Last updated 16th Aug 2021
A Lanarkshire man is hoping for an apology from a road maintenance company after he claims he was accused of breaking the law while litter picking on a foot path.
Craig Ritchie was bagging up rubbish for the council to collect next to the M74 near Abington services when a BEAR Scotland employee told him he was fly tipping.
Speaking to Clyde 1 he said: "I know there was nothing wrong with what I was doing because clearing rubbish is a positive thing and good for the environment.
"I was very annoyed and surprised that somebody who works for an organisation such as BEAR would say something like that to a member of the public who is doing something good.
"It is shocking."
Craig says he is not going to let the incident get him down and he is determined to carry on keeping the area clean and tidy.
"I know this is a negative situation, but I am looking for something positive to come out of this.
"It would be nice if BEAR perhaps gave me a litter picker to help me do my litter picking.
"People make mistakes all the time and it would be nice if they held their hands up and said sorry and then we could move on from it."
A spokesperson for BEAR Scotland said: “We’re aware of this particular incident and have reached out to the member of the public to provide further information.
“Roadside litter picking on the trunk road network is a risky activity, and it is not advisable for members of the public to pick litter from high speed road side verges.
"Litter picking at this particular location is the responsibility of South Lanarkshire Council and Autolink, and we’ve arranged a meeting to discuss more aligned and joined-up ways of working ahead of our grass-cutting programmes.
“We all share the same frustrations in that the principal responsibility lies with the anti-social individuals who persist in treating roadside verges as a dumping ground for litter, and as such we are supporting campaigns trying to address this.”
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