Tackling littering on the A90 dual carriageway is now costing Angus Council around £50,000 a year.
Last week seven instances of flytipping were discovered on the road through Angus and almost 700 pieces of litter were collected.
Keep Scotland Beautiful has joined forces with Angus Council as part of its national drive to clean up Scotland’s roadsides.
Angus Council is the first in Scotland to actively support the charity’s national campaign to urge road users to take personal responsibility for their litter.
Kirriemuir Councillor Jeanette Gaul and Angus South MSP Graeme Dey joined campaign character Wido the crisp bag to launch a localised campaign at McDonald’s in Forfar.
Mrs Gaul, who is chairperson of the Pride in Place group, added: “I am appalled to learn that 50 tonnes of litter is strewn along Scotland’s roadsides every month.
“In Angus, we may not experience the same levels of this type of anti-social behaviour as other parts of the country, but neither are we immune to it. I urge everyone to play their part in trying to tackle this problem.
“Raising awareness, understanding and a sense of community spirit is essential to changing behaviours.
“The best way to deal with littering along our main routes and carriageways is for those who are responsible to examine their own actions and then actually take responsibility for them – give their litter a lift and take it home. There really is no excuse for littering.”
During March campaign interventions will appear across the county – including highly visible bins in laybys and signage encouraging people to take their litter home where there are no bins.
Mr Dey said: “Roadside littering doesn’t just have a detrimental impact on the natural environment and the public purse, it also places those charged with the task of removing it in harm’s way.
“In every conceivable regard it is simply unacceptable, therefore I am 100% behind this initiative and the drive to change behaviour.”
Carole Noble, operations director with Keep Scotland Beautiful, added: “At the end of last year as a direct response to the scale of our country’s roadside litter problem, we launched a nationwide campaign with a wide range of stakeholders.
“We are delighted to now be rolling this out in partnership with Angus Council.
“We recognise that to tackle this disgusting and illegal habit, we all need to work together, to raise awareness of the problem of throwing litter from a vehicle, and to trial innovative solutions to change current littering behaviours.”
