National Highways is trialling tech-based approaches in its
efforts to cut down on litter on its roads.
To coincide with this year’s Great British Spring Clean, the
company has announced two new innovative litter trials to help
reduce the amount of litter on the network: ‘geofencing’ laybys
and solar-powered compactor bins.
National Highways has trialled messaging to reduce motorway
littering using ‘geofencing’ to send messages to drivers entering
laybys where littering is prevalent, urging them to use bins or
take their litter home.
Geofencing is the use of GPS (Global Positioning System)
technology to create a ‘virtual geographic boundary’, enabling
software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or
leaves a particular area.
Around 100 laybys on the A50 in Derby, and the A180 en route to
Immingham Port were ‘geofenced’ for the trial which lasted three
months. Messages informing drivers to ‘Bin Your Litter’ or ‘Take
your litter home’ were delivered to drivers who stopped in these
laybys. The trial was able to identify the two most heavily used
laybys - those which attracted the most read messages. As of 31
January 2024, a total of 245,021 messages were viewed. This
intelligence will allow National Highways to develop strategies
to better tackle litter at those locations.
Solar-powered compactor bins have been trialled since October
2023 in a layby on the A180. Due to the volume of litter being
placed into the bins, the bins were regularly overflowing.
Installing compactor bins, which crush the litter, has addressed
the issue. This has enabled the local authority to reduce their
emptying regime from six days a week to two, saving time, money
and improving road worker safety.
The company also makes use of digital variable messaging signs
(VMS) in selected regions to display roadside messages reminding
road users to dispose of their litter responsibly.
Freda Rashdi, Head of Customer Journeys for National Highways,
said:
“We are trialling a range of innovative tech-based solutions to
tackle littering on our network, as part of our ongoing campaign
to tackle this dreadful social problem.
“National Highways is supporting the Great British Spring Clean
for its ninth year and we are staging litter picks across the
country. We value Keep Britain Tidy’s commitment to eliminating
litter for the last 70 years.
“We’re also exploring ways to reduce the contractor equipment
debris left behind after roadworks – which our customers
regularly highlight to us as an eyesore.
“The simple fact is that if litter wasn’t dropped in the first
place it wouldn’t need to be picked up. So, this is an
opportunity to remind people that they too can make a difference
simply by saving litter for the bin.”
Allison Ogden-Newton, Chief Executive of environmental charity
Keep Britain Tidy, said:
“Drivers mindlessly tossing their rubbish out of their
windows is a blight on our country and does untold harm to our
wildlife, as well as making our country look dirty and
unloved.
“We welcome National Highways stepping up to the challenge of
tackling this environmental vandalism with their new initiatives
and we look forward to seeing the results and, if successful,
their roll-out across the nation’s road network.
“In the meantime, it is great to have their support for this
year’s Great British Spring Clean. Thousands of volunteers will
clear more than 350,000 bags of rubbish from our streets, parks
and beaches during the campaign but they cannot clean up the
motorway slip roads and central reservations that are so often
covered with litter so it is great that National Highways will be
doing their own litter-picks.”
Last month, National Highways launched its new litter campaign,
teaming up with the RSPCA to urge road users to ‘Lend a Paw – bin
your litter’. The RSPCA revealed it had received over 10,000
reports of animals found injured, trapped or dead from discarded
litter in the last 3 years – nearly 10 per day. The campaign is
featured on radio adverts, roadside billboards, posters at
motorway service areas and petrol stations, and on social
media.
National Highways complies with its duties under the
Environmental Protection Act and is responsible for collecting
litter from England’s motorways and a small number of A-roads. It
works closely with partners, including local authorities, who
collect litter on most of the country’s A-roads.
