26-mile stretch of A41 to be cleared of rubbish

Workers began the big litter pick on Monday and started to clear rubbish from the central reservation of the road.

A similar two-week operation to clear the slip roads, junctions and grass verges will begin on Monday February 20.

More than 10.5 tonnes of litter and bulky rubbish was collected in the last clear-up which cost an estimated £40,000.

The scheme is costly as it involves applying and paying for a traffic management system so that parts of the road can be closed as they are cleared.

Craig Thorpe, group manager for environmental services at Dacorum Borough Council, said: “This is a huge task involving a team of up to 12 members of staff.

“It will cost us £25,000 in traffic management, labour, equipment and disposal costs to pick up litter which should not be thrown out of a car on a high-speed road.

“Throwing litter on this road is dangerous to vehicles and wildlife and we urge drivers to take their litter home and dispose of it safely.”

While clearing the central reservation, Dacorum Borough Council is working with highways contractor Ringway and using its traffic management system – but intend to use its own traffic management system for the main road closures.

The council has been raising awareness of the litter problem on the A41.

It has increased signage and there has been an increase of litter bins in lay-bys which are cleared twice a week.