Allan turns trash into cash with £500 LitterLotto windfall
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Wick man Allan Bruce turned trash into cash by landing a £500 windfall through an innovative anti-litter initiative – and he is encouraging others to get involved too.
Allan, a local community councillor and a member of Wick Paths Group, was a recent winner in a nationwide partnership between environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful and LitterLotto – an app that offers a free-to-enter draw with regular spot prizes and jackpots.
To enter, users take a photo of themselves putting litter in a bin.
The 43-year-old not only collects litter on his daily walk with his dog Harvey but organises community litter-picks.
At this month's meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council, Allan outlined his plans to mobilise people of all ages in the town for this year's Spring Clean being run by Keep Scotland Beautiful. He wants to get businesses, schools and others on board between March 17 and April 17.
He told fellow community council members that last year's Spring Clean efforts led to 185 black bags of rubbish being collected locally, and he is keen to make this year's tidy-up activities "bigger and better".
He also took the opportunity to recommend the LitterLotto app and explained that he had been among the latest prize-winners. He has been using the app since the start of November.
“Last spring I ran four quite big Spring Clean events around Wick," Allan said. "I’m a member of Wick Paths Group and recently there were 15 of us out on a walk looking at some projects we are going to do this year, and I was showing everybody the app.”
Allan has also shown it to his friends and family and now wants to focus on educating young people about the negative effects of litter.
He said: “The town is actually quite tidy now so I want to concentrate more on the educational side of things. I wanted to buy, with the help of the community council, two kits for the two primary schools – something they could use all year round.”
Allan revealed that some unexpected items had been found during last year’s Spring Clean.
“We had a bathroom suite," he said. "We did one at Wick Airport Industrial Estate and we were lifting crisp packets that I think were on the go when I was at school – historical rubbish!”
Catherine Gee, deputy chief executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “I’m delighted to see that Allan has been rewarded for doing the right thing through our partnership with LitterLotto.
“This collaboration is all about encouraging people to help tackle the country’s looming litter emergency and it’s brilliant to see people across the country getting involved.
“I’m looking forward to seeing many more Scottish winners benefiting from helping to keep Scotland beautiful, and with our Spring Clean due to kick off in March it is the ideal time for people to get involved in making a difference.”
A spokesperson at LitterLotto said: “It's great to see our Scottish users benefiting from this regional jackpot.
“We hope that our partnership with Keep Scotland Beautiful will encourage others to get involved.
“Our users help keep their communities clean and green and with LitterLotto you can win cash while doing good.”
The LitterLotto app is available as a free download.
