Don’t be a Tosser!
Drivers in the South East urged to clean up their act as litter hotspots across the region revealed
Highways England is calling on drivers to join them in doing their bit to reduce the litter levels on roads in the South East of England, after it was revealed more than 10,500 bags of litter were collected from motorways and major roads in Surrey, Kent and around the M25 this year alone.
Litter presents a serious safety risk besides being unsightly and a risk to wildlife and the environment. During 2021 so far, areas such as the M25/A3 interchange, M25/A1089 interchange, junctions 2 and 5 on the M2, junction 6 on the M20, junctions 10 and 11 on the M23, the A27 in West Sussex as well as motorway service areas all continue to be major litter hotspots in the region.
To tackle the problem Highways England is again taking part in Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean to encourage drivers and passengers to keep the country clean.
Matt Salt, Highways England’s service maintenance manager, said: ‘Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Highways England. Not only is littering unsightly, it puts our road workers at risk when they go out to clean it up. It also costs Highways England time and money which could have been much better spent maintaining and improving the roads in the region.
‘Drivers regularly comment on the importance of maintaining a clean and tidy road network, and we work hard with our partners to keep our roads in the South East of England clean. However, 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 28 May and Sunday 13 June. Highways England picks littler throughout the year and hopes Keep Britain Tidy’s latest campaign will help change people’s roadside littering habits.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: ‘It is great that Highways England support the Great British Spring Clean and our Million Mile Mission by doing dedicated, deep cleans of problem areas.
‘Our message to the public is clear – please do not be tempted to litter pick on motorways; Highways England will do this as it is extremely dangerous but equally to everyone, please, please, please do not throw anything from your car. To do so is putting wildlife and other people’s lives at risk.’
Besides the usual takeaway wrappers or plastic bottles that have been picked up, in previous years some of the more unusual items have included push bikes, fridges, settees and wallets.