New Forest District Council is working to reduce litter in the district with a new ‘game’ approach on the A35.

Two scoreboards have been erected between Lyndhurst and Hinton, displaying the area’s litter score.

The litter rating ranges from A, good, to D, bad, with an overall percentage score on display based on how much litter is on the roadside – the higher the score, the less litter.

The project, which is running until September, aims to discourage people from throwing litter from their vehicles by taking part in the game of getting a good litter score.

Cllr Geoffrey Blunden, portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, said: “This game is part of our ‘Look Out For Our Forest’ project, which aims to work with people’s natural behaviours; making doing the right thing easier.

“It’s the first time we have tried such a proactive approach in the New Forest to reduce roadside littering.

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“We are really looking forward to seeing positive outcomes from this engaging project.

“If we can all act together, as people who care about the New Forest, we will keep a good score and support a greener future for us all.”

New Forest District Council is asking that residents do not try to improve the score by litter picking on the roadside themselves, instead opting not to litter in the first instance.

If the project proves a success, New Forest District Council may try a similar approach in other areas of the New Forest.

Cllr Blunden went on to say: “The A35 was chosen for this latest project as, historically, the road has had an issue with littering from vehicles and would benefit from a change in people’s behaviour.

“Roads like the A35 are more dangerous for our teams to litter pick, needing traffic management to make it safe.”

Cllr Blunden added: “Littering is a district-wide problem which New Forest District Council responds to daily.

“Projects like this seek to benefit our environment, and the thousands of businesses who rely on the area being attractive, serene, and litter-free.

“The ‘Look Out For Our Forest’ campaign invites people to reflect on their behaviour, to stop this problem from escalating.”