5-year-old Renfrewshire boy recognised for fantastic litter picking effort

This month we're delighted to have given Zach Gilmour aged 5 from Paisley, a Clean Up Scotland Hero award for the great litter picking he has been doing in his local area.

Zach got the litter picking bug after going out on a clean up with his granddad, Tony Green. He can now be found picking up litter at least a couple of times a month, and a favourite spot to keep looking neat and tidy is around and about his school, St Paul’s Primary.

Zach also recently completed a litter pick with the rest of his primary 1 class and was rewarded for his efforts with a school recycling award. What an inspiration Zach is!

Zach’s Grandad, Tony Green, said:

“I am incredibly proud of Zach for his hard work cleaning up around where he lives. He really understands that it is important for to look after our local spaces and he is keen to do his bit. And for him it is not a chore - he really enjoys picking up the litter and making an area clean and tidy.

“Zach has definitely got the litter picking bug and is keen to continue with his hard work as he gets older.”

Heather Mclaughlin, Campaigns Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said:

“I am incredibly pleased to award Zach with our Clean Up Scotland Hero award. He is a great role model for everyone and really deserves this recognition.

“As we come out of lockdown once again, it is more important than ever that we look after our beautiful country and keep it clean and tidy. We will be running a Summer Clean as part of our Clean Up Scotland campaign later this year, and we hope thousands of people from across Scotland will take a leaf out of Zach’s book and help us to keep Scotland beautiful by carrying out a litter pick in their local area.”

The Summer Clean will run between 28 May and 20 June and more information about how to get involved with this and the Clean Up Scotland campaign can be found at: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/