The cost of litter

People are being urged to stop littering after Wiltshire Council spent more than £20,000 collecting rubbish in recent weeks just from alongside the A303 and A36.

The council is spending an additional £500,000 on litter collection this year (2016/17) as the amount of waste is deposited on the highway continues to increase. This means it now spends more than £2.5million on collecting litter throughout the county.

Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for highways, said "2017 is rapidly approaching and I would ask everyone to make a New Year's resolution to help us reduce litter in our communities. Wiltshire is one of the most beautiful places in the world, we have major heritage sites, worldwide visitor attractions and an abundance of natural wildlife. All of these are affected by the blight of litter. At a time of reducing budgets, we are spending far too much money on this issue, money which could be spent on vital services for vulnerable people."

Although the maintenance of the A36 and A303 is the responsibility of Highways England, it does not collect litter. Legalisation requires Wiltshire Council to do so.