News

Tonnes of rubbish removed in A41 spring clean


As part of the Great British Spring Clean, our Clean, Safe and Green team have completed a thorough clear-up of the A41 - from the M25 junction at Kings Langley to the roundabout at Tring, on both sides of the carriageway. The crew of 20 operatives have done a brilliant job and collected five tonnes of litter in seven days and our two HGV sweepers collected a further 69 tonnes of rubbish and debris from the road.

Due to people continuing to drop litter from their cars, it is necessary to carry out these large-scale clean-ups. Approximately £1 billion of tax payers’ money is spent in the UK every year cleaning up after people who toss their rubbish out of their vehicles.

According to a study by Keep Britain Tidy, the top most littered items are cigarette butts, sweet wrappers, fast food packaging and bottles and cans (both soft drink and alcoholic).

Local authorities in the UK are able to fine the registered owner of a vehicle up to £150 if rubbish is seen being thrown out of their vehicle – regardless of whether it was them who threw it.

To help raise awareness about this issue and discourage people from illegal littering, we use various anti-litter signs along the road. 

Litter is not just illegal, unsightly and expensive to clear, it kills millions of animals every year, too, as wildlife get stuck inside items such as bottles and cans.

Don’t toss your rubbish - keep it in your vehicle and put it in a bin when you can, making sure to separate out the recyclable rubbish into your blue-lidded bin.

For more information about litter, including how to report it to us if you see someone in the act and how to get involved in litter picking, please visit our litter page.