The SouthGlos Post

A spring clean of the A4174 Avon Ring Road has produced a mammoth 550 bags of rubbish.

The clean up, conducted by South Gloucestershire Council over a three week period, involved considerable resources, including lane closures. The rubbish is thought to have been thrown out of vehicles or escaped from unsecured loads.

The spring clean was accompanied by a joint operation between council officers and the police targeting both individual motorists who throw rubbish from their cars and hauliers who allow waste to escape from their vehicles.

Littering motorists are liable to pay a £75 fixed penalty notice whilst hauliers can be fined considerably more – last year a local company received a fine and costs totalling £3,520 after being found guilty of allowing waste to escape from one of its vehicles onto the ring road.

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Volunteers from the community are helping neighbourhood police keep Little Stoke and Stoke Gifford safe.

Since the volunteers signed up in autumn 2009 they have helped police identify anti-social behaviour (ASB) hotspots, enabled officers to seize alcohol from underage drinkers, identified 60 speeding vehicles and carried out community clean-ups.

Neighbourhood PC Mark Graham said: “We asked for volunteers to help us tackle the three issues that the community had told us were their priorities: speeding, ASB and littering.

“These people are making a real difference to their community. Making the neighbourhood safer and stronger is a team effort. Police work with other agencies like South Gloucestershire Council, but we need the support of local people as well.”

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Source: Avon and Somerset Police

The A4174 Ring Road will get a spring clean during March when South Gloucestershire Council conducts a clean up operation to remove litter from the verges and central reservation.

Starting on 8 March for three weeks, there will be off-peak lane closures between 9.30am and 3.30pm to ensure the safety of the workers clearing the accumulated litter. The rubbish has either been thrown out of vehicles or has escaped from unsecured loads.

As well as cleaning the rubbish up, the council will also be taking enforcement action against drivers who create the litter problem. A joint operation between council officers and the police will run parallel with the clean up operation and will target both individual motorists who throw rubbish from their cars and hauliers who allow waste to escape from their vehicles. This enforcement operation follows on from a similar successful initiative last year.

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council

Volunteer groups across South Gloucestershire are urged to spring into action and help clean up their neighbourhood or open spaces, as part of national spring clean.

South Gloucestershire Council is supporting the Big Spring Clean Campaign 2010 which runs from 1 March to 30 April and is encouraging everyone to join in. From schools to scouts and voluntary groups to businesses, all are invited to take action against litter.

Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “The Big Spring Clean is always hugely popular in South Gloucestershire and I’m sure this is down to the fact that people are proud of the area as a place to live and work.

“We want to encourage as many volunteers as possible to take part in the Big Spring Clean. This event can make a big difference. By reducing the litter we will improve the quality of the environment and make the green spaces of South Gloucestershire even more inviting to visit and enjoy.

“We’re hoping for a really good response to this year’s campaign and I look forward to seeing and hearing about the results of the Big Spring Clean 2010!”

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Source: South Gloucestershire Council