991 bags of litter picked up on M74

MOTORWAY litter was a huge issue last year, with 991 bags of litter and 497 large items cleared from the M74 alone. Amey, which manages and maintains Scotland’s South-West Trunk Road Network, revealed the figures for this year's Keep Scotland Beautiful’s 2026 Week of Action. Spokesman Garry Head said: “These are not abstract statistics. Every bag represents a journey — by an operative who has put on high-visibility PPE, set up traffic management, to clear what someone else threw from a window. “That work almost always takes place at night. On the motorway network, litter-picking operations require full traffic management to protect operatives and cannot safely be carried out during peak traffic hours. Teams work in darkness, in all weathers, managing a hazard that could — and has — proven fatal on roads across the UK.” Amey also warned the consequences of roadside litter extend far beyond the roadside itself. Litter blights some of Scotland’s most celebrated landscapes, deterring visitors and damaging the tourism economy.

In addition, it poses a direct threat to plant and animal life — from wildlife ingesting discarded food packaging to plastic debris contaminating drainage systems and watercourses. Now Amey is urging all road users to play their part - and not to drop litter in the first place — keeping rubbish in the vehicle and disposing of it responsibly at home or at a designated facility. Garry added: "Even a small change in behaviour, multiplied across the thousands of journeys made on the network every day, would make a profound difference to the safety of our operatives, the health of the countryside, and the appearance of Scotland’s roads. Please: take your rubbish with you."