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Giant funnel bins to tackle North West
motorway litter
NEW giant funnel bins are being
installed at motorway service areas across the North West in a bid to reduce the
amount of litter dropped on the region's roads.
Highways England is providing the bins as part of a North West initiative to
tackle littering after over 40,000 sacks of rubbish had to be collected from
motorways in the region last year; an average of 108 sacks for every mile of
motorway.
The window height bins are being installed at around a dozen service areas in
the North West over the next few months, and the 1st bins have been installed
at Lymm Services by the M6 in Cheshire this week. 2 different sizes of bins are being installed; ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 metres
high; next to Give Way lines at the exit to service area car parks. The bins
allow both car and lorry drivers to reach the ½ a metre wide funnels from
their vehicles' windows.
Paul Elliott, Service Delivery Team Leader at Highways England, said:-
"We're committed to tackling littering on our network and are installing the
funnel bins at service areas in the North West. The bins offer another
opportunity for road users to dispose of their rubbish responsibly within
service areas.
Our teams of workers do a fantastic job removing litter from motorways every
year but we'd much rather they were able to spend more of their time carrying
out maintenance work. The new giant funnel bins will make it much easier for
drivers to get rid of their litter as they won't need to leave their vehicles,
and I'd urge drivers to either use the bins on the network or to take their
litter home with them."
It costs Taxpayers an estimated ₤40 for each sack of litter collected from
motorways; roughly the same cost as fixing a pothole.
Litter poses a risk to other drivers if it lands on windscreens, causes a threat
to wildlife and leads to flooding if drains become blocked so litter picking is
regularly carried out across the network.
Rubbish has to be collected close to fast moving traffic; putting workers at
risk; and lane closures are often needed, causing needless disruption to
drivers.
Paul Cooper, 46 from Bolton, has been collecting litter from motorways in the
North West for 19 years as part of his job as a maintenance worker for Balfour
Beatty Mott MacDonald. Paul's other duties include filling potholes, repairing
safety barriers and clearing drains. He said:- "I think most drivers who
sling litter out their windows don't really think about what they're doing, and
that someone like me has to come along and clear up after them. It tends to be
worst on slip roads or where there's standing traffic, as that's when drivers
seem to decide to have a clear out of their cars. There's always an element of
risk when you're working on the network as you're near traffic so my message to
drivers is please stop dropping litter and use the bins or take it home with you
instead."
The bins are being installed as part of a North West litter initiative, which
also involves trialling new signs with the message 'Workers lives are put at
risk picking your litter' and carrying out extra litter picking patrols to help
tackle the issue. CCTV footage has also been released which shows a lorry
driver discarding an oil container at the side of the M62 near Rochdale after
pulling over to the hard shoulder to add oil to his vehicle's engine. The
footage is available to watch on
YouTube.
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