Household Items Dumped On Yorkshire And Humber’s Motorways

Everything but the kitchen sink has been removed from Yorkshire and Humber’s motorways as Highways England gets tough on fly-tipping and litter.

Settees, microwaves, a carpet and even a mattress have been removed from the side of the motorway since the beginning of March as part of a national campaign to keep the country clean.

Highways England collects litter and removes fly-tipping all year round but has had a particular purge as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean where 19,450 bags of litter have been collected.

Highways England’s litter champion Tim Calvert said:

“Litter and fly-tipping present a serious safety risk besides being unsightly and a risk to wildlife and the environment.

“As well as removing these items from the side of the M1 and M18 in South Yorkshire, we also collected 5,300 bags of litter from across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

“We’re also working closely with local authorities in the area to coincide any of our activities for them to collect litter from the A roads.”

Around 200,000 bags of litter are collected from the motorway network every year.

Highways England is now urging people to take their litter home or dispose of larger items in the correct manner.

Mr Calvert added:

“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 diverts time and money that could be better spent on improving the network.”

As part of the eight week campaign, the teams targeted 83 separate sites including three fly-tipping sites and worked with local authorities who targeted their routes and six fly-tipping sites.

Teams will be continuing to tackle litter across the motorway network, working alongside local authorities to keep the roads litter free.