Employees from Wainwright have helped clear more than 20,000 items of litter from local roads in an industry-wide initiative.

The Mendip Quarry Producers (MQP) annual litter pick took place between Monday, 18 March and Friday, 22 March. It saw 42 people work on a rota to clean up the region’s roads, as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean 2024.

Between them, the volunteers cleared an estimated 1,740kg of rubbish from more than 18 miles of roads around their premises.

Representatives came from Tarmac, Morris & Perry, Aggregate Industries, Heidelberg, and Wainwright. They each worked a day-long shift to remove litter from verges and hedgerows.

“It’s staggering to see how much litter accrues beside our roads,” said Matt Bishop, Wainwright’s Safety, Health and Environment Manager and the person who coordinated the initiative.

“Over the years of doing the litter pick, we’ve stopped being surprised by the objects we find. But it’s disheartening to see just what gets discarded, with items including furniture, electrical appliances, cans, bottles, and crisp packets being a routine part of our haul.”

As a thank you for their efforts, each MQP volunteer was given lunch at Wainwright’s Moons Hill Headquarters, near Stoke St Michael. They also received a bottle of prosecco at the end of their shift.

“We’re proud of our people for getting stuck in with the annual litter pick,” said Tom Longland, CEO of Wainwright and a member of the MQP. “It’s one of the ways the quarry industry tries to give something back to the local community and environment, improving lives for everyone in our area.”

Find out more about the Great British Spring Clean 2024