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‘Litter makes me anxious’: How Coupar Angus man battles his demons, one rubbish bag at a time

Martin Shaw has collected 100 bags of rubbish since the start of the year - and he's not done yet.

Martin Shaw says the amount of litter beside roads is causing a strain on his mental wellbeing. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.
Martin Shaw says the amount of litter beside roads is causing a strain on his mental wellbeing. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Roadside litter is frustrating for many, but for this Coupar Angus man it is damaging his mental health.

Martin Shaw had never really noticed litter before.

That was until he stumbled across David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II documentary.

It was “heart-breaking” for Martin to watch as an albatross fed her chicks plastic.

Like many, Martin lives with anxiety and littering makes it worse.

The Attenborough documentary changed his outlook and he began to take steps to tackle the problem in his own community.

“The message hit home with me,” he said, “and I decided to make a change.”

At first it began with a few bags, then Martin really got a taste for it. Since the start of this year, he has collected over 100 bags of litter on his own.

He admits seeing litter strewn “thoughtlessly” on the roadside has increased his anxiety.

“Very much so,” he said, “because I feel like I want to clean it all, but you can’t keep on top of it all.”

New litter-picking life

Martin works full time at Tesco and spends many of his days off litter-picking, as well as several nights a week.

It has even led to arguments with his partner when Martin promises to be out for one hour, then spends four hours hunting for litter.

He has picked up as many as 550 drinks cans in a single litter pick.

It “brings a tear to [Martin’s] eye” to see the sheer volume of rubbish.

Litter on the roads in Perth and Kinross.
Martin Shaw alongside the A923 near Coupar Angus. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

He spends hours each weekend collecting the rubbish strewn on roads between Coupar Angus and Dundee.

Martin feels a “sense of purpose and achievement” when he successfully clears an area of litter.

But then it is “a total kick in the teeth” when he returns to a spot he has cleared and finds it a mess again.

Litter thrown at passionate litter picker

Martin admitted he receives a lot of hate online for what he does.

A driver once threw litter at the 41-year-old while he was picking up litter beside the road.

“I was out picking on the Dundee Road one day and someone threw a Red Bull tin at me out the window.

“It hit me in the chest. I was taken aback and quite shocked that someone would do that.”

This made Martin feel “deflated” and it took a few weeks for him to build up the confidence to go back out litter picking.

Litter on roads in Perth and Kinross.
Bags of litter Martin Shaw collected on the A923 between Coupar Angus and Dundee. Image: Martin Shaw.

The amount of litter on the roads is worse than ever, according to Martin.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.

“There’s just a constant stream of rubbish on every road. It’s depressing.”

Martin hoped that being seen out and about picking up the litter might encourage a change in behaviour from drivers, but he has not seen a difference yet.

Council not to blame for Perth and Kinross roadside litter

The litter picker thinks too many rely on the council rather than cleaning up after themselves.

“I totally disagree with people that say the council isn’t doing enough,” he continued. He is grateful to Perth and Kinross Council for providing him with equipment and picking up the many bags of rubbish he collects.

“We’re never going to get a totally litter-free environment,” he admitted.

“My gripe is the people who do it on purpose.

“I think some people think [littering] is the cool thing to do now…

“Just stop being thoughtless and lazy, and think of other people.”

A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council previously said that littering costs them over £2 million a year.

She added: “Over 1200 litter bins are located around Perth and Kinross and we’d encourage everyone, residents and visitors alike, to make use of them.

“We also work with our communities to make litter picking equipment available for local groups, organisations and individuals to carry out clean-ups in their area.”

People can report litter problems to the council here.

Conversation