Motorists urged to take litter home as rubbish found on 99% of Welsh roads

Motorists are being urged to ‘drive your litter home’ as new roadside data revealed rubbish is found on almost all main roads in Wales.

The data from surveys carried out by Keep Wales Tidy, Wales’ leading environmental charity, shows that litter is present on 98.8% of A and B roads.

In particular, smoking litter – mainly cigarette butts – is present on 88.1% of main roads.

The data also highlights the environmental impact of ‘on-the-go’ food and drink, with sweet wrappers, drinks containers and fast-food packaging among the most common types of litter along roadsides.

The surveys, carried out between April and December 2025, found:

• Confectionary (sweets and chocolate) packaging was present on 80.7% of main roads.
• Drinks litter was present on 72.1% of main roads.
• Fast-food litter was present on 67% of main roads.

The data was collected using Geospatial Litter Analysis (GLAN) – a world leading litter monitoring methodology created by Keep Wales Tidy.

GLAN surveys take place in publicly accessible spaces including streets, car parks, green spaces and bathing water beaches.

They are conducted by trained staff to record litter and wider local environment quality issues and have replaced the historic methodology called LEAMS which was used from 2007-2024.

Data analysed for this campaign includes sites within 10m of an A or B road in Wales, but does not include motorways or C roads.

In response to the findings, a new social media campaign funded by Welsh Government is aiming to raise awareness of the far-reaching impacts of roadside litter and convince motorists to ‘drive your litter home’.

@nicholasfearn The Diva Supreme is proud to support @KeepWalesTidy with another amazing campaign. This time, they are shining a spotlight on the effect roadside litter is having on our beautiful roads and encouraging us all to be more responsible and take our litter home. Their Drive Your Litter Home campaign is a simple reminder – if it comes with you on the journey, it goes home with you too! Litter does not belong on our roads, be more Diva and #driveyourlitterhome ♬ original sound – The Diva Supreme 🫶

Keep Wales Tidy has emphasised that roadside litter threatens wildlife, pollutes waterways, and is both dangerous and expensive for teams to clean up.

Keep Wales Tidy’s Chief Executive, Owen Derbyshire, said: “Loving Wales is basically in my job description, but even I feel embarrassed by the state of our roadsides. There is simply no excuse for throwing litter from a vehicle. It is lazy, unnecessary, and completely avoidable.”

He continued: “Roadside litter is not a new problem, but this latest data shows just how widespread it has become. Every motorist needs to take responsibility. Litter in your vehicle belongs to you. Drive it home and dispose of it properly.”

To find out more about Keep Wales Tidy’s roadside litter campaign, visit their site here.