31 tonnes of rubbish collected from just two stretches of road

"This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle..." Even filthy London streets couldn't put Shakespeare off his stride, but were the bard to be catapulted to 2023 and find himself wandering along the side of the M25, or any major UK road, would he describe this country in similar terms?
Probably not. Our litter-strewn verges are a disgrace, but even worse is the fact that, save for a few hardy members of the public with plastic bags and nerves of steel, no one does much about it. Actually, that's not entirely true. My local litter group's Facebook page carries a couple of pop-ups from the council proclaiming how its highways squads were in action over five days on the A3 and A331, when they gathered 1000kg of litter and 17,360kg of debris. That was in February. A month later they were out again on the A3 alone and harvested 1460kg of litter and 11,060kg of debris.
There are no national figures for the quantity of roadside litter and rubbish, although a report by the Council for the Protection of Rural England in 2020 estimated that clearing it up costs taxpayers around £850 million a year. According to National Highways, which is responsible for motorways, much of the rubbish its teams have to deal with is food packaging, but fly-tipping of household and construction rubbish is a growing problem, as are carelessly tied-down skiploads that release those endless, grey plastic streamers you see in hedges.
Denne historien er fra May 10, 2023-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 10, 2023-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9500+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

AYGO X HYBRID SETS NEW EMISSIONS BENCHMARK
Electrified city car claims tiny CO2 output and more than 74mpg

Matt Prior
It’s taking awhile, like closing an ill-fitting lid on a plastic kitchen container.

HOT TESLAS UP ANTE TO TAKE ON EUROPE'S FASTEST EVS
New ‘Ring-honed Model S Plaid and Model Y Performance are imminent

MG CYBERSTER
Intriguing Chinese-built electric roadster joins the fleet

Appetite for production
Hyundai's Ulsan plant is the world's largest car-making facility, with five separate factories and an on-site port. WILL RIMELL is awestruck

AUDI A3 SPORTBACK 40 TFSIe
Perennially popular premium hatchback returns in plug-in hybrid form

Steve Cropley
“Its makers deserve a way of boasting. At present, they can’t”

Damien Smith
Marcus Ericsson looked sick and ashen.

NEW AUDI RS6 TO KEEP V8 AS 730BHP PHEV ALONGSIDE EV
Both hybrid and electric performance A6s are being readied for 2026
BMW 2 SERIES COUPE
Updated two-door still offers six cylinders and RWD – but not together