Mid Sussex District Council (MSDC) has been working closely with Highways England to ensure the A23 is as clear of litter as possible.
MSDC is responsible for removing litter from road verges throughout the district. However, the high speed nature of the A23 and the volume of traffic make this almost impossible to do safely without at least part of the road being closed. Therefore, we have agreed with Highways England and their contractor A one + that trained litter pickers from MSDC’s waste contractors Serco can join their planned night time road closures to help clear the A23 of litter.
“So far our staff have safely joined 49 night closures, which has resulted in the collection of over nine and a half tonnes of discarded waste” explained Gary Marsh MSDC Cabinet Member for Service Delivery. “This includes ordinary litter as well as tyres, discarded road signs and A frames.
“Litter that’s left thrown onto the roadside looks appalling and the people who are responsible should be ashamed of themselves. Throwing litter out the window of your car is completely anti-social, spoils the environment for everyone, and causes huge problems when it comes to cleaning up the mess.
“To prevent litter in the first place would help save taxpayers some of the £18,000 that MSDC has recently had to spend clearing the A23. Simple suggestions such as thinking before you throw, bag and bin it or using one of the accessible welfare facilities or service stations along the A23 will help restrict the amount of dangerous work that our contractors have to endure.
“Further, when towing trailers please make sure that all items are secure and that nothing is able to escape onto the carriageway”.
MSDC will continue to do all we can to work towards keeping the A23 as clear as possible of litter and we would ask the Mid Sussex community to help us in this cause.
