Campaigners have called for action to clean up the A27 and said that some parts of the road have not had rubbish collected for three years.
Litter has been left by the roadside and – when contractors have cut back weeds, shrubs and branches – the rubbish has been shredded and spread.
As a result, plastics and other rubbish are polluting crops, animal feed and the water course, prompting MPs and council leaders to urge the government to simplify the rules around roadside litter clearance.
They are particularly worried about safety, with the risk of debris causing a crash – or clogging up drains and leading to dangerous flooding.
A new campaign group – the A27 Clean Up Campaign – has been formed to try to ensure that those responsible for the roads play a proper part in keeping them clear.
Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Brighton and Hove City Council leader Nancy Platts – both Labour – are among those backing the campaign.
They have been joined by one of the former councillors for Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, Maria Caulfield, who is now the Conservative MP for Lewes.
Other supporters include Brighton and Hove taxi driver Neil Parkin, who also serves as the Tory leader of Adur District Council.
And they have been joined by the new Green leader of Lewes District Council, Zoe Nicholson, who works as a health chief in Brighton.
The group has written to Grant Shapps, the new Tory Transport Secretary, urging him to make Highways England responsible for clearing roadside rubbish along the A27.
Highways England already has the job of maintaining and repairing major roads as well as clearing overgrown weeds, bushes and trees.
At the moment, councils are in charge of removing roadside litter – but they have to pay Highways England or its contractors to close the road so that they can carry out a safe clear up.
But campaigners said that the current system wasn’t working, with contractors cutting and strimming and spraying around chopped up litter before councils had a chance to collect it.
The campaign group said: “Co-ordination between Highways England’s contractors and local authorities is expected to happen to enable litter picks to take place during other maintenance works.
