Tonnes of rubbish thrown into verges on some of the busiest main roads across North East Somerset are being picked up by Bath & North East Somerset Council as part of a six-week clean-up blitz.
More than 150 miles of verges on busy A and B roads will be covered by the council’s cleansing teams picking up litter thrown out of vehicles starting from Monday, February 10.
Last year crews collected more than 1,000 bags of unnecessary waste weighing in at 3.5 tonnes – the equivalent of a light goods vehicle.
Councillor Dave Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Nothing frustrates me more than seeing tonnes of litter in our hedgerows and verges. I’m really pleased we are taking this very rural issue seriously and helping to keep our countryside beautiful.
“The end of the winter and the start of spring is the best time for our crews to do this work because the vegetation has grown back so they can see the litter buried in the hedgerows and verges.
“It costs the council up to £40,000, which is money that could be better spent if drivers were not so careless and actually bothered to take their rubbish home with them to either recycle it or put in their general waste bin.
“We are also looking at what we can do to stop people throwing litter out of cars and trucks in the first place, including how we can issue more £150 fixed penalty notices for littering.”
Litter picking schedule for 2020
* please note this may be subject to change depending on weather conditions:
| Date Work Planned | ||||
| No. | Road Name – In order of preference other than dual carriageway works (A4/A46/A36) | Start | End | Estimated Duration – Days |
| 1 | A37 | 10th FEB 2020 | 11th FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 2 | A368 | 12th FEB 2020 | 13th FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 3 | Globe Pennyquick (Whiteway Rd) to Haycombe Cemetary | 14th FEB 2020 | 14th FEB 2020 | 1 |
| 4 | A39 | 17th FEB 2020 | 19th FEB 2020 | 3 |
| 5 | B3116 Junction A39 to Keynsham | 20th FEB 2020 | 21st FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 6 | Woollard Lane & Chalton Road to Keynsham | 24th FEB 2020 | 25th FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 7 | A367 | 26th FEB 2020 | 27th FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 8 | B3115 Tunley Road | 28th FEB 2020 | 28th FEB 2020 | 1 |
| 9 | B3130 Chew Magna to A37 Pensford | 2nd MAR 2020 | 2nd MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 10 | B3114 Chew Magna to Border – by Sherborne Farm | 3rd MAR 2020 | 5th MAR 2020 | 3 |
| 11 | B3355 Hallatrow to A362 | 6th MAR 2020 | 6th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 11 | A362 Farrington – Old Mill Ind Estate | 9th MAR 2020 | 9th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 12 | Queen Charlton Lane | 24th FEB 2020 | 25th FEB 2020 | 2 |
| 12 | Stockwood Lane– NO MAP | 10th MAR 2020 | 10th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 12 | Staunton Lane –NO MAP | 10th MAR 2020 | 10th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 13 | A363 Wilts border to Bathford Rnd About | 11th MAR 2020 | 11th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 14 | Brassknocker Hill | 12th MAR 2020 | 12th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 14 | B3110 Hinton Charterhouse Road | 13th MAR 2020 | 13th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 15 | Claverton Down Road – Brassknocker to Uni | 12th MAR 2020 | 12th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 16 | Lansdown Road to S.Glos border to Fonthill Rd | 16th MAR 2020 | 16th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 17 | Lansdown Lane – Lansdown Rd to Beresford Gdns | 16th MAR 2020 | 16th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 18 | A431 Kelston Road | 17th MAR 2020 | 16th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 19 | A36 Lower Bristol Road Cares Centre to 3 Lamps Junc | 18th MAR 2020 | 18th MAR 2020 | 1 |
| 20 | A4 Globe to Car Sales Saltford | 18th MAR 2020 | 18th MAR 2020 | 1 |
