Glasgow 'litter lottery' branded an 'absolute joke' by city city cleansing teams

A new bid to encourage people to bin their litter by turning trash into cash is “crazy” and “an absolute joke” according to workers at Glasgow’s cleansing teams.

Yesterday it was announced that the city council is trialling LitterLotto for a year, in partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful, to encourage more people to develop good habits.

A monthly prize of £100 is up for grabs and entrants must be 18 or over and have downloaded the free LitterLotto app where they upload photos of themselves binning rubbish in a council street bin.

In just 24 hours, 230 people have downloaded Glasgow’s LitterLotto app, where each month, a prize draw will see one lucky person win the cash prize.

Council workers including bin men and road sweepers say the idea is “crazy” and people should be binning their rubbish anyway but the local authority says it already spends around £20m a year removing litter.

One worker, who doesn’t wish to be named, said: “I can’t believe that we have actually got a rubbish lottery. I don’t understand the logic of this. The service is on its knees.

“People should be using bins anyway – this is absolutely crazy – it doesn’t make sense to pay the public for something that they should be doing anyway, meanwhile we have not got enough people to actually empty bins.”

GMB convenor Chris Mitchell says the scheme is “an absolute joke.”

He said: “I think it is embarrassing that we are actually rewarding people for putting their rubbish in the bin which is what they should be doing anyway.

“It doesn’t matter how many times they try to come up with a solution – it is clear – employ more people into the cleansing department which is paid to do the job.

“My members with 30 or 40 years service under their belts deserve this money more, a Christmas bonus, or a wee voucher to help feed their families.”

Glasgow City Council hopes the new programme will help make the streets cleaner and prevent rubbish from being blown into the Clyde.

A spokeswoman said: “A total of 230 people have downloaded Glasgow’s LitterLotto app in less than 24 hours which is a fantastic response from the public.

“LitterLotto aims to encourage more people to bin their litter, making the city’s streets cleaner and preventing rubbish being blown into the Clyde where it is a danger to marine life.

“Each year the council spends around £20 million removing litter, so it would be far better for the city, its residents and businesses if it were not dropped in the first place.

“The entire year’s LitterLotto pilot cost around £7,000 including the prizes. It is already used by councils elsewhere and we’re really encouraged by the amount of people who have already downloaded it.

“If more people bin their litter rather than dropping it, it will be a win for all involved.”