Argyll and Bute supports review of trunk road litter management

Argyll and Bute will support East Lothian Council’s proposal that there should be a national review of litter management responsibilities for trunk roads across Scotland, which are not managed by local authorities.

The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee agreed on 11 September that the Chief Executive would write to Scottish Ministers requesting a review of litter picking responsibilities for the A92, A83, A85 and A828.

Council’s don’t have a specific budget to deal with litter prevention or collection along the trunk road network. The speed and volume of traffic on trunk roads makes litter picking a higher safety risk to council staff and can be expensive as extra traffic management requires to be put in place. Council-managed roads tend to have slower average traffic speeds and litter picking is mostly focused on the points where the roads pass through centres of population.

If litter picking on trunk roads could be carried out at the same time as other routine maintenance, it may turn out to be safer and cheaper, and so better for the public purse.

Councillor John Armour, Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services, said: 

“The best way is to prevent littering in the first place. Sadly, some individuals cause litter, and others have to deal with the consequences. Thereafter, we need to ensure is it collected as safely and cost-effectively as possible. We’re happy to work with Transport Scotland and colleagues in other local authorities to review current practices and see if there is a better way to manage trunk road litter.”