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Debate on litter on motorways

As waste and resources is a largely devolved subject matter, responsibility for clearing litter on motorways is the responsibility of different bodies throughout the UK. In England National Highways is the body responsible for cleaning litter on motorways and a small number of A roads.

Local Authorities are generally responsible for clearing litter on all other A-roads, trunk Roads and local road networks.

Together these bodies are generally referred to as “duty bodies”.

The duty to clear litter, “so far as is practicable”, is provided by section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for England, Wales and Scotland and for Northern Ireland, by The Litter (Northern Ireland) Order 1994.

This pack sets out more detail on the duty to clear litter on motorways, the offence of littering, the scale of litter on motorways and calls for change. It also includes recent PQs on the subject and some useful links.