Published: Thursday, 11th March, 2010 6:00am

A rubbish welcome to Dunbar

by Sam Berkeley

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A "DEEP clean" of A1 verges and lay-bys near Dunbar has started.

But despite yielding 60 black bags of litter in a single day, our picture from Monday shows there is still a lot of work to be done.

As well as being an eyesore to residents, the mess gives tourists and visitors a poor impression of the county.

Council refuse workers began the litter-pick last week following a sea of complaints from Dunbar community leaders, councillors and residents about the "appalling" level of rubbish strewn along the county's main artery.

Cleaners concentrated on a two-mile stretch of roadside between Thistly Cross and Spott Road roundabouts, removing 60 bags of waste.

East Lothian Council said that, in the past, red tape had hindered regular roadside cleaning of A1 as the local authority had to pay "large sums" to facilitate "slow traffic lane closures" to allow workers to safely collect litter.

But now it intends to synchronise clean-up efforts with the road maintenance timetable used by Bear Scotland, the organisation responsible for trunk road maintenance.

A council spokesperson said the "deep clean" would continue and would be supported by regular litter collections.

"We have been aware of the litter problems at the side of the A1 carriageway and have been in negotiations with BEAR Scotland for some time to agree suitable access arrangements," she said.

"Our workers can now safely collect litter without the need for slow traffic lane closures, which are inconvenient for motorists and very costly for the council. We are also co-ordinating with BEAR access to the verges at times when they are carrying out grass cutting or other road works.

"We are continuing with our efforts along that stretch of the carriageway."

Will Collin, of Dunbar Community Council, has been an open critic of the roadside mess but welcomed the clean-up effort.

"It's bad from time to time," he said. "But what also concerns me is that the A1 is the main tourist route into Scotland and this kind of thing spoils the image of East Lothian. Visitors must think 'this is a pretty grotty place'."

And he added: "I welcome this - as will the people who drive along the A1 every day and have to look at the mess."

East Linton resident Robert Russel was shocked at the state of the A1 recently.

He said: "I was appalled, as many visitors to the county must be, by the amount of roadside rubbish present, particularly plastic bottles.

"Someone is responsible for roadside cleaning, and appears to be neglecting their job, but the worrying thing is how the material gets there in the first place.

"We have a lovely countryside, but some show no respect for it judging by the amount of litter they leave."

Questions have been asked whether waste lorries travelling to Viridor's landfill site near Dunbar have contributed to the litter problem.

Responding, Viridor said in a statement: "Litter on the A1 is an ongoing issue, one that Viridor has recently raised with BEAR Scotland. Viridor's Dunbar site has an excellent record of environmental compliance and works closely with East Lothian Council to maintain a high standard of operation.

"Half of the waste brought to the Dunbar site is transported by rail and both Viridor and East Lothian Council vehicles entering and leaving the site are regularly monitored."