Litter presents a serious safety risk besides being unsightly and
a risk to wildlife and the environment.
Around 200,000 bags of litter are collected from the motorway
network every year and that is why Highways England is taking
part in Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean again this
year to help encourage people to keep the country clean.
Highways England’s head of customer and operational requirements
Freda Rashdi said:
Litter is an important national issue and we’re pleased to be
able to support the Great British Spring Clean.
Litter is not only unsightly as well as a risk to wildlife and
the environment, but it also puts our workers at risk
collecting it and it diverts time and money that could be
better spent on improving the network.
If people don’t drop litter in the first place it wouldn’t need
to be picked up – so we’re urging people to take their litter
home instead of tossing it out of their car windows.
The Great British Spring Clean campaign takes place between
Friday 22 March and Tuesday 23 April. Highways England picks
litter throughout the year and is having a particular purge which
started on Friday 1 March.
Allison Ogden Newton, Chief Executive at Keep Britain Tidy, said:
I’m delighted that Highways England has joined forces with us
again this year to support the campaign and give our network a
spring clean.
Our roadside verges are a haven for wildlife and we know that
millions of small mammals are killed every year by litter that
has been thrown from vehicles by thoughtless drivers.
Our army of up to 500,000 volunteers will be delighted to see
that Highways England is supporting their efforts by cleaning
up the places that they can’t get to – our high-speed road
network and slip roads, where so much litter is tossed out of
car windows.
During a similar purge last year, while also contending with
‘Beast from the East’, more than 8,000 bags of litter were
collected, and Highways England expects to exceed that target
this year.
But besides the usual takeaway wrappers or bottles that have been
picked up, in previous years some of the more unusual items have
included push bikes, fridges, settees and wallets which will also
be removed if needed.
