Action call over littering after human waste discarded next to bypass

Volunteer litter pickers have called on Shropshire Council to step up measures to prevent rubbish being discarded on a town bypass – after finding human waste among the debris.

The A41 around Whitchurch has been compared to a landfill site by one resident who said the state of the road could be putting off potential visitors from going into the town.

The council says it is aware of the problem and will be stepping up its litter picking activity in the coming weeks.

Environmental campaigner Nick Saxby said he was shocked to see the huge volumes of waste that had built up after joining a group of volunteers attempting to tidy up the road themselves.

In a public question submitted to Shropshire Council’s cabinet at a meeting on Monday, he asked what steps were in place to prevent lorry drivers and other motorists from littering, and whether the council would commit to investigating what more could be done.

Mr Saxby said: “The project started thanks to activists in Whitchurch’s ‘Our House’ group. I was invited along to help out with the cleaning, and was shocked at how bad it was.

“There essentially is a landfill site in orbit around Whitchurch.”

The volunteers, calling themselves ‘The Whitchurch Ringroad Gardening Club’, have retrieved around two tonnes of waste in a stretch of the road between Tarporley Road and Belton Farm.

They have temporarily been forced to pause their efforts as a result of Covid measures, but say they will finish the final stretches when restrictions are eased.

Mr Saxby said: “The bypass is a gateway into our town, and people pulling over as they pass us by might be getting a horrible impression.

“The debris goes deep into the soil and vegetation, so it’s been accumulating for a long time.

“After it’s been deep cleaned, hopefully it’s an easier job to keep it tidy with surface cleaning.”

However, the volunteers are particularly upset about some of the things they have found, including a “huge number” of bottles of urine and even a

plastic box of faeces, believed to have been left by lorry drivers parking up in the lay-bys overnight.

Mr Saxby said: “I am hoping that the council and local community can work together on a way to improve the situation. Whitchurch deserves better

than having this sort of offensive waste being left around it.

“Of course, lorry drivers need to rest and relieve themselves, but there are rest stops not too far from the town. At the very least, perhaps drivers just need to be signposted to more appropriate places to stop.”

In response to Mr Saxby’s question, Councillor Steve Davenport, portfolio holder for highways, said it was a nationwide issue that the council was working to address.

Councillor Davenport said: “The council, via our street scene team, are bringing forward an improved programme of litter picking on high-speed roads.

“It’s true that there have been issues with covering staff absences, staff redirected to deal with flooding and winter maintenance.

“It’s recognised that the improvements need to be made and additional work will need to be instigated over the next few weeks.

“Opportunistic littering is a national problem and local authorities have seen an increase during the Covid-19 period.

“The council will certainly look into the issues both in Whitchurch and other problem areas.

“This will be carefully considered, as much opportunistic littering is done at night or at times when no-one is about.

“There’s clear intent to improve the programme of activity and it will come forward as soon as it’s agreed with our street scene contractor.

“We know this is a problem throughout the county and I can assure you I am involved in helping this along.”