An INCREDIBLE feat has been achieved by hard-working volunteers who have devoted countless hours to clear more than a million pieces of litter from South Ayrshire streets, beaches, and woodlands in less than a year.

The South Ayrshire Clean-up Campaign began on January 25, 2021 with the aim of picking up the seemingly impossible target number pieces of rubbish.

The tireless pickers picked their millionth piece of discarded waste on a group-pick on Saturday morning in Ballantrae.

Volunteers have recorded the removal of 1,000,092 pieces of litter, from as far apart as Barassie to Ballantrae, and Loch Braden to Lochside.

Most of the activity has been led by individual action, with volunteers logging the litter they collect with the campaign at saccmillion.org.

A total of 1,657 separate picks have been recorded, with an average of 608 pieces removed each time.

But the pickers are not celebrating just yet.

Data collected by the campaign shows that littering is both a frequent and sustained activity across all South Ayrshire.

Volunteers in Troon removed a new piece of litter every two minutes. In Maybole volunteers removed 25 pieces of litter for every resident, while 100 pieces of litter a day have been removed from a single park in Prestwick.

Campaign founder and volunteer Christopher Johnson, of Prestwick, said: “There is an amazing sense of achievement in reaching the million-piece milestone – there has been incredible community spirit in tackling a collective goal that has bought many different groups and individuals together.

“Unfortunately, the litter isn’t slowing down but we now have a very rich set of data that is already starting to tell us stories.

“It is essential now that both politicians, and the public listen to the data, and act.

“During 2021, a volunteer removed a piece of litter from South Ayrshire every 30 seconds. This cannot be taken for granted, and is simply unsustainable.”