LAZY litter louts who dump rubbish on Glasgow’s streets are being targeted in the City Council’s tough new clean-up campaign.

Rapid response teams and social media are at the heart of the Environmental Task Force, billed as a ‘new way of tackling Glasgow’s rubbish mountain’.

Council workers pick up 250 tonnes of street litter every week, which amounts to 12,000 tonnes per year.

And the Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Frank McAveety, has called on residents to play their part.

Mr McAveety said: “There is a shared frustration out there that sometimes the city doesn’t look as good as it could.

“I’m responding to the queries I get from people who tell me that Glasgow’s litter problem needs to get sorted out.”

Councillor McAveety believes the ETF will “revolutionise the way the city is maintained.”

“What’s different about this approach is that, firstly, we will have a dedicated team that will be flexible enough to respond to problems quickly, and secondly, we are asking people to communicate directly with us on social media,” he said.

The pioneering scheme’s main aim is to tackle environmental issues including fly tipping, littering and dog fouling.

Real time information from Facebook and Twitter will be gathered at a state-of-the-art command centre in Bridgeton, with 30 rapid response teams then dispatched to tackle the issues as quickly as possible.

In addition, the city’s 21 wards will be grouped into four Task Force Cycles. An ETF team will arrive in a ward each week and work on that area before starting the whole process again in a new ward the following week.

A typical ETF team comprises specialist units who will focus on graffiti removal, public health issues, noise, improving roads, dog fouling, community payback and littering.

And as part of the programme, a major recruitment drive will take place which will see unemployed people of all ages from across the city trained up as ETF officers.

Councillor McAveety added: “This huge commitment is a collaborative approach which sees the city’s biggest assets working together in a bid to deliver better services for the people of Glasgow.

“The Task Force will not replace the Cleansing Department, which empties 23 million bins a year. Instead, it is a strategic add-on that will make a real difference.

“Thanks to our partnership approach, ETF officers will be able to respond quicker than ever before and will also take a more proactive approach to dealing with environmental problems across the city.”

To find out how to get involved visit www.glagow.gov.uk or follow the Twitter feed at @theenvtaskforce