(Sorry. I don’t have a photo. Driving.)
I submitted a question to the Vale Cabinet member for waste about responsibility for picking up litter and detritus on the A34.
When the agenda was published, an Oxford Mail reporter rang me to talk about it. You can see her article here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24446844.rubbish-decorates-a34-oxford-like-christmas-decorations/
Here is my question: Question from Cllr Debby Hallett to Cllr Mark Coleman, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste 17 July 2024
For the 13 years I’ve been a member of this council, I have tried to urge the council to improve the litter and detritus removal on the verges and in the shrubs and trees alongside the A34.
The A34 is almost always strewn with rubbish, tyres and detritus. Highway repair crews leave their cones and frames and sandbags behind. Right now, the weeds have grown up enough that it’s harder to see. (I recognise that there was recently a one-off blitz to get some control back. I am more concerned with the regular maintenance programme and less in heroics that make for good social media posts.)
What is Vale’s responsibility to residents regarding litter removal from the A34, and what is our strategy for meeting that responsibility?
Written answer:
I welcome this opportunity to clarify the responsibility of the council with regard to the
cleansing of the A34, what we currently do and our strategy for the future.
In cleansing the A34, the council is required to follow Defra’s code of practice on
litter and refuse. This means the A34 and lay-bys are cleansed to Grade A (No litter
or refuse ) and B (Predominately free of litter and refuse apart from some small
items) standards. The council is not responsible for road sign maintenance or the
cutting back of verges.
Cleansing the A34 must be done in conjunction with National Highways, who
authorise closures for road works which we take advantage of to access the road
when it is safe to do so, and OCC who are responsible for cutting back many of the
verges.
The council undertakes its cleansing responsibilities through a contract with Biffa.
The contract is output based and states the contractor should clean the roads to the
standards set out in the Litter Code of Practice.
Biffa consider it unsafe to access the verges on this road without suitable traffic
management. As the A34 is two laned, with a narrow hard shoulder, Biffa’s policy
only allows access to the verges to clear litter when the road is partially or fully
closed. When there is no planned road closure, but urgent cleansing is required,
Biffa subcontract verge cleansing to a company that have had specialist training on
working on the side of roads without lane closures.
In addition to general verge litter picking, Biffa attend to the 28 lay-bys that are on the A34. These are visited at least twice a week to empty the bins and to litter pick where it is safe to do so. The council’s Waste Team frequently monitor Biffa’s performance around the laybys, and bin servicing is found to be good. Problems only occur when bins are blocked by fly tipped items. Keep Britain Tidy undertake independent inspections against the code of practice grades, with the latest information being from February of this year. They looked at 120 locations in Vale, grading each for litter, detritus, graffiti and fly-posting. The lay-bys are frequently litter picked, and in the last survey all inspected sites across the district were found to be grade A or B for litter. The contract performance is also monitored through a set of contract measures, and an
annual performance report to Scrutiny. The report for 2023 was reviewed by Scrutiny on Monday 15 July 2024.
As part of the forthcoming waste resources and street cleansing strategy, a greater
emphasis will be placed on street cleansing and the council will look to work more
collaboratively with its partners in the county council, national highways, local groups
including parish/town councils, and voluntary organisations and community groups.
The aims of the strategy will be to:
- Reduce litter through a localised, community driven approach.
- Reduce fly tipping
- Clean streets in partnership with, and sensitive to, local needs.
Whoever the council employs to undertake street cleansing from 2026 (when the current contract with Biffa ends) will also be required to have a collaborative approach which looks for continual improvement, and the service specifications are currently being drafted to reflect the increased emphasis required in street cleansing.
As a follow up question, I asked if this vision of Vale’s responsibility would be reflected in the emerging Corporate Plan.
Answer: No.