A partnership between the Euro Garages UK retail group and Monmouthshire County Council has resulted in an improved environment following a litter-picking session on a local road close to the A449 service station near Raglan.

Management at Euro Garages UK Monmouth – who run the service station – were particularly concerned at the amount of rubbish dropped on the former Raglan to Monmouth trunk route and contacted the council to deploy traffic management to protect litter pickers working on the busy road.  Working in wet and windy conditions, the team of ten litter pickers and six support staff swiftly collected 16 sacks of waste produce as well as car parts and other large items. The council provided two van drivers, two traffic controllers and seven litter pickers to complement the Euro Garages workforce.

The litter included discarded takeaway cups and lids, packaging and wrappers, plastic and glass bottles, cans, sheets of plastic wrap and single-use plastic gloves.  It was concentrated in an area close to where sheep and lambs graze, posing a risk to farm animals, especially inquisitive young stock.

Councillor Jane Pratt cabinet member with responsibility for waste and recycling said: “We were delighted to cooperate with Euro Garages UK to clear so much rubbish and this is an excellent example of team-working with a local business – something I’d like to explore further.

“The amount of litter I witness on our roadsides is appalling.  It is so easy to put an item in the bin, but it takes an enormous amount of effort to clear it from roadside verges.  It is sad to see spring lambs gambolling in fields with hedges despoiled by litter.  Everyone needs to play their part in keeping Monmouthshire beautiful as well as avoiding harm to farm animals and wildlife caused by discarded waste.”

Sonia Murphy, manager at the Euro Garages UK Monmouth site added: “It is frustrating to see so much litter along this roadside.  We work hard to keep our premises free from litter, we provide plenty of bins for customers and we are about to install more.  We are considering the best way to enforce the law on littering on our sites as we have to close slip roads at quiet times to retrieve litter from alongside the site exits.”