A ‘Trashconverter Van’, dispensing food and hot drinks in exchange for rubbish, arrived in the Forest this week.

The van accepts trash rather than cash to highlight the litter problem in the area and promote responsible behaviour.

Building on last year’s successful ‘Love Your Forest’ initiative, it will tour the Forest until the end of the month appearing at 13 different venues.

Its first venue on Monday was on the edge of open woods at Bradley Hill, near Soudley.

For the occasion, the classic Citroen van was decked out in artificial ‘wildflowers’ created from domestic rubbish by artist Michelle Reader as an ironic reminder of what the forest floor should really be covered in.

Glenn Redwood from Bream, who manned the vehicle, said: “When we visit schools and ask children if they drop litter and they say ‘yes’, we usually find they can’t really explain why, other than that their parents don’t tell them it’s wrong.”

The campaign is a joint initiative between Lucozade Ribena Suntory, anti litter charity Hubbub, Forest of Dean District Council, Foresters Forest, The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association and the Forestry Commission.

Trewin Restorick, the chief executive and co-founder of Hubbub, said: “Layby litter louts blight the beautiful natural landscape, dumping 250 tonnes of rubbish each year in the Forest of Dean, some of which takes several thousand years to decompose.

“So we’re taking the unusual step of swapping rubbish for rewards to promote positive behaviours and encourage everyone to dispose of their litter properly.”