Friends continue to make a difference on the A82

Volunteers from JP Morgan & AECOM turned out on a rainy Wednesday 3^rd of June morning to try to reduce the litter which continues to gather along the shores of Loch Lomond.

The event was organised by The Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs (FOLLATT), a long established conservation charity which operates in and around Scotland’s busiest National Park, and was assisted by the Grab Trust who provided the litter picking equipment.

Their Chairman, John Urquhart, said,

“This, our second Make a Difference (MAD) event of 2026, concentrated once again on tackling the ongoing problem of littering which blights the loch side along the busy A82 between Arden and Ardlui. We were especially keen to see how the removal of our lay-by bins was impacting the situation and were initially heartened to note that the lay-bys and intervening verges were generally quite presentable. However, as we feared, the cleanliness was only superficial, as it quickly became clear that a substantial number of people were once again disposing of litter by throwing it into the undergrowth.

Enquiries revealed that a workforce from Argyll and Bute had indeed carried out a litter clearance operation of the road a few weeks ago, as they normally do at the start of the tourist season, but it was obvious to us this had not been an in-depth operation.

Sadly, this just reaffirms our view that the two responsible authorities, Argyll and Bute and The National Park are continuing to neglect their duty to tackle this important issue effectively.

Meanwhile it looks like our hard-working volunteers are going to have to keep turning out to do their best to keep the bonnie banks looking their best.”

Mr Urquhart added that he wished to thank the Lodge on Loch Lomond Hotel for hosting the event and supplying FOLLAT’s somewhat damp volunteers with a delicious snack at the end of the event.

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