A DRUMCHAPEL mum has kickstarted a drive to clean up her area after it has “gone to ruin” over the past year of lockdowns.
Tanith Diggory has been inspired to transform her local streets after exploring the area with her three children.
The 36-year-old, who moved to the area to join her husband Phillip a decade ago, has always found litter to be a problem but insists the issue has dramatically risen over the past 12 months – resulting in the family reporting up to 40 incidents of fly-tipping over the Easter holidays.
She said: “I started to notice the litter and once I noticed it, I couldn’t stop.
“It’s gotten really, really bad. It was a bit of a problem, but it’s gotten to the point you can’t walk down the street without seeing it, so I just started picking it up.
“Lots of people are aware of the issue and are saying they see what’s happening and how can they help.”
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Tanith, along with her children, 16-year-old Oliver, 12-year-old Emily, and 18-month-old Eli, has begun organising litter pick-ups throughout the scheme and has had the support of residents, charities, and Drumchapel Community Council, as well as local politicians.
However, the artist believes it is not enough to resolve the issue – prompting the campaign called Keep Drumchapel Tidy.
Tanith is urging every school, business, and housing association in the area to pledge 30 minutes of their time to take to the streets in June to conduct a clean-up.
She has also called on Glasgow City Council to support the cause.
“It shouldn’t be on the person to report an issue because you can’t just report everything you see,” she added. “There’s too much.”
“There’s only so much we can do. We can’t pick up everything. We need the support of the council.”
A spokesman for the local authority said it was "keen" to support the clean-up and had responded to a number of service requests around the area, however, several have related to private land.
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He said: “We have received a number of service requests from Tanith recently and a great many of them have been dealt with by our staff.
“However, some of the requests have related to fly-tipping on privately-owned sites and responsibility for clearing-up those incidents rests with the land owners, not the council.
“We are keen to support Tanith’s effort to clean-up after those who leave a mess behind themselves in Drumchapel as community involvement is a vital part in keeping local areas in good condition.
“We have already been in touch with other members of the Drumchapel clean-up group she is involved with and we will assist the group in whatever way we can.
“We will provide support for a forthcoming community clean-up, but we will be also encouraging the group to report incidents appropriately so that we can respond as effectively as possible.”
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