A Paisley councillor man has turned trash into cash and won £250 thanks to an innovative partnership.
Renfrewshire councillor Stephen Burns is the latest winner of environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful’s partnership with behaviour change app LitterLotto.
Stephen said: “I’m very keen on litter picking so I was delighted to take part in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s project with LitterLotto – and even more delighted to be a winner.
“I’m very keen on litter picking and there are problem areas such as lunchtime litter we need to tackle, but there’s lots of people taking part in our Team Up to Clean Up campaign in Renfrewshire trying to make a difference.”
The councillor also highlighted the increase of disposable vapes.
He continued: “Vapes are a big problem. Most of the things you come across are vapes, glass bottles and empty cans so that’s something we need to address.”
Stephen is one of thousands of volunteers that take part in Renfrewshire Council’s award-winning Team Up to Clean Up campaign, which aims to support volunteers to take pride in the local community while enhancing the council’s own street cleaning, gully clearing and litter picking programmes.
Catherine Gee, Deputy Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “I’m delighted to see that Stephen has been rewarded for doing the right thing through our partnership with LitterLotto.
“This collaboration is all about encouraging people to help tackle the country’s litter emergency and it’s brilliant to see people across the country getting involved.
“I’m looking forward to seeing many more Scottish winners benefitting from helping to keep Scotland beautiful, and with our Spring Clean due to kick off in March it is the ideal time for people to get involved in making a difference.”
Dawn, Campaign Project Manager at LitterLotto, said: “It’s great to see our Scottish users benefiting from this regional jackpot.
“We hope that our partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful will encourage others to get involved.
“Our users help keep their communities clean and green and with LitterLotto you can win cash while doing good.”
This innovative venture is one of the many ways Keep Scotland Beautiful is tackling the looming litter emergency with a national poll conducted by the environmental charity earlier this year highlighting two thirds of people believe that litter is an issue in their local area, and 87% believe that it is an issue across Scotland.
The LitterLotto app is available to download for free on the App Store and Android Store.
For those who would like to help tackle Scotland’s litter emergency, Keep Scotland Beautiful’s annual Spring Clean campaign takes place from 17th March until 17th April 2023.
If you would like more information or visit the LitterLotto website, here: www.litterlotto.com.
Photo: Cllr Stephen Burns with the LitterLotto app