Check this section regularly to find out all of the latest news on Litteraction.org.uk and CPRE's Stop the Drop campaign.
8th June 2009: Green Belts for a greener future: survey
We want to see how people think the Green Belt should be used. Between April and July we are carrying out a survey, in conjunction with Sustain, Myerscough College and our local branches in Bristol, London and Merseyside. If you live or own land in those areas, we would like you to take part in the survey. It will only take a few minutes of your time and you could help shape the future of the countryside in or near to where you live.
There are two types of survey form:
- for the general public and members of community groups; and
- for landowners, land management professionals (such as planners and surveyors), tenant farmers and local authorities.
This project has been made possible with a grant from Rufford Maurice Laing.
To take part in the survey visit www.cpre.org.uk.
9 March 2009: Stopping the Litter Bugs
Since the 1960s the amount of litter dropped annually has shot up by 500 per cent, and local authorities are now left to foot a bill of an estimated £500 million a year to clean it up. Alongside these costs, companies in heavily littered areas are losing business, and rubbish adds to an air of neglect in local communities, contributing towards increasing crime rates and anti-social behaviour.
Bill Bryson, President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said:
"This report identifies the lack of any systematic logic in enforcement policy. Fines are an essential enforcement tool, and one which needs to be applied far more consistently than is currently the case.
"As this report also says, we need community buy-in to the fight against litter; we must build civic pride in clean and tidy environments, with communities competing to be spotless. Only then can we stop the exasperating and routine vandalism of a country so rich in natural, cultural and built heritage."
Ben Caldecott, Head of Policy Exchange's Environment and Energy Unit, commented:
"We know what works from abroad, where schemes have cut littering rates by up to 80 per cent, and we know there are simple, cheap measures like the provision of more bins that can easily and quickly be put in place. Taking a few simple steps would reduce the clean-up costs that local authorities currently face.
"Over time, if we better educate people and stop the perception that litter is somehow ‘someone else's problem', then we can get to the root causes of this blight on our towns and countryside."
Using polling, psychological experiments and drawing on examples of effective prevention from Australia and America, as well as analysis of national and regional data, today's report, Litterbugs, includes in its recommendations:
• The creation of a national body to coordinate anti-littering initiatives, campaigns and programmes.
• The introduction of a deposit scheme - New York State's experience with a deposit scheme has been overwhelmingly positive, the most tangible evidence of this being high levels of public support and dramatic falls in container and drive-by litter.
• Taking account of litter and littering behaviour in the design of our public spaces - an intelligent approach to designing public spaces, bins and systems can yield reductions in littering without any increase in funding.
• Greater consistency in the application of penalties for littering across local authorities - too few local authorities fine, with only a small minority utilising the fining options available to them. There is also a tendency for fines not be given to the worst offenders, such as young urban males, as wardens perceive them to be threatening and dangerous.
Download the LitterBugs report from the CPRE website.
13/01/2009 McDonald’s wrappers worst for shaming our streets
Keep Britain Tidy today named McDonald’s as the most littered fast food brand in the country. The company’s burger wrappers and drinks cartons are more likely to be found strewn on our streets than any other fast food brand. Keep Britain Tidy’s branded litter survey serves up super-sized shame for some of the world’s most recognised companies. McDonald’s was found to be the most common brand seen as litter in the snapshot survey of ten city centres and suburbs across England .
Nationwide McDonald’s made up more than a quarter of all fast food litter (29%). Items common as litter were McDonald’s burger wrappers, condiment sachets and plastic straws. In second place, the local chippie or kebab shop: Keep Britain Tidy found a huge amount of “unbranded” chip wrappings and packaging in all locations (21%). This included polystyrene chip trays and plastic forks. In third place, Greggs, was found to have a high gutter share. The company’s pasty and pie wrappers made up 18% of all fast food litter. There was a big drop to fourth place KFC (8%) and fifth place Subway (5%).
Keep Britain Tidy surveyors spent two days observing fast food litter in Newcastle , Liverpool, Manchester , Leeds, Sheffield, Leicester, Birmingham , Bristol , Southampton and London .
Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which is running the Stop the Drop campaign on litter and fly-tipping, said:
"This research shows that some of our best known brands have a big job to do to help win the battle against litter. McDonald's has rightly been campaigning in this area, but it and other companies need to do much more to stem what seems to be an inexorably rising tide of rubbish. Of course we should not excuse the slovenly and irresponsible behaviour of people who drop litter, but fast food outlets need to raise their game by cutting back packaging, supplying more bins and encouraging customers to eat in rather than taking packaging out onto the streets, where it all too often ends up on the pavement or in the gutter."
02/01/2009 7 million plastic bags saved by local Co-op Customers
The East of England Co-op’s market leading initiative to reduce the number of plastic carrier bags handed out in its food stores across East Anglia has proved a huge success.
The Society took the bold decision to stop giving away free plastic bags in all its food stores and petrol forecourts three months ago, in September, but it is a move which has so far been avoided by all of the UK’s major food retailers.
Every week since the start of the initiative, over half a million plastic carrier bags have been saved from clogging up the region’s landfill sites and polluting the environment. In only three months, more than 7 million plastic bags have been saved, equating to over 28 million bags in a full year!
That’s a saving of around 84% on the number of regular plastic bags issued by the Co-op, which has shattered the industry average reduction and current Government targets. Many major competitors are achieving savings of around 25% - 30%, but they only seem to be targeting reductions of around 50% in the short or medium term.
Richard Samson, Chief Executive of the East of England Co-operative Society said: "This just shows what can be done through co-operation with our customers. We were hoping that we could achieve an ambitious reduction in the order of 75% to 80%, but with a fantastic effort from our store colleagues right across East Anglia, we’ve easily beaten that figure with an 84% reduction overall!"
UK retailers hand out an estimated 13 billion free plastic bags every year and Mr Samson added: "Whilst we’re proud to be leading the way on this important issue, our food store competitors appear to be hanging back, with promises to cut plastic bag usage by up to 50% by next spring. There’s no doubt that we could not have achieved such a big reduction in carrier bag usage without the support of our customers, which has been tremendous and our thanks go to them for their co-operation.
"But plastic bags remain a big problem right across the country and although our customers have clearly demonstrated that there’s a willingness to tackle the issue right now, it does require a genuine lead from their local supermarket or convenience store operator. We look forward to seeing other major retailers following our example on this sooner rather than later."
18/12/2008 Public support return of the bottle deposit
A public opinion poll commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has demonstrated overwhelming public support for a return of bottle deposit systems.
82% of those polled by Ipsos MORI said they would support a scheme whereby at least 5 pence was included in the price of every drink container, with that deposit paid back to the consumer when the container was returned for recycling. Four in five of those polled said they would support a scheme whereby 10 pence was included.
Nine out of 10 people in favour of the scheme also thought the deposit would have an impact on reducing litter dropped on the street.
These results come as the Government publishes research into the case for container deposit schemes in the UK, commissioned in response to CPRE’s call for a fresh look at the issue.
Bill Bryson, President of CPRE, said: ‘We asked Government to consider a review of bottle deposit systems earlier this year, and we know Ministers will be looking at the results as part of their strategic review on packaging. This public poll proves that such a scheme would have huge support, so we say that now is the time for the Government to take action.
‘Evidence shows that deposit schemes work well. Eleven US states have them, and the New York State bottle bill, for example, has delivered redemption rates of 65-80%. In South Australia, there are return rates of 74% of plastic bottles and 86-92% for cans. And closer to home, Denmark’s scheme achieves a return rate of 87% for beverage containers, with an 82% rate in Sweden.’
Ben Stafford, Head of Campaigns at CPRE added: ‘The research commissioned for Defra shows that a deposit scheme could have real advantages, and we don’t even need to look outside the UK for proof. In Scotland, Irn Bru is still available in refundable glass bottles, and an impressive 70% of these are returned. Each glass bottle returned is cleaned, refilled and sold around five times during its full life.
And evidence from a survey in Denmark suggests that cans with deposits on them were far more likely to be returned, and much less likely to be picked up as litter.
A deposit system could have particular advantages to people at Christmas time. We use an extra 750 million bottles and glass containers and 500 million drinks cans during the festive period.
Ben Stafford concluded: ‘A deposit of 10 pence a bottle could see UK householders recovering £125 million at Christmas time alone. With the UK only recycling 35% of the 13 billion plastic bottles we use each year, we feel sure a deposit scheme will have a real impact, help to keep the streets cleaner and reduce the annual £500m litter clean-up bill that we all have to pay.’
20/11/2008 Launch of new creative pack to help schools tackle litter
CPRE and The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust have been working together to produce a new creative and inspiring education pack for schools revealing how litter can easily hurt or even kill wildlife, and the wider damage litter has on our environment. The resource pack, How to Run a Whole School Litter Campaign, includes shocking facts about litter and powerful photographs that show wildlife injured by carelessly dropped rubbish.
Practical activities and lessons encourage children to understand the problem of litter and the harm it can do to wildlife and the wider environment. Teachers will find the suggested activities and lesson ideas can be related across all subject areas of the curriculum.
You can download a copy of this new resource by visiting the CPRE website - http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/stop-the-drop/litter-and-fly-tipping/litter-campaign-update
29/08/2008 The Big Tidy Up
Keep Britain Tidy will turn the clock back more than half a century as it launches the biggest litter pick in history. With levels of rubbish on our streets constantly unsatisfactory, the nationwide "Big Tidy Up" will see an unprecedented month-long blitz on litter.
Thousands of litter picks will take place across the country and it is hoped half a million bags of litter will be collected throughout September. So far 6,000 individuals and groups have signed up.
The National Federation of Women's Institutes have pledged their support and thousands of members are set to take part. More than half a century ago Women's Institute chair Lady Elizabeth Bruner established Britain's first permanent anti-litter body. As a result of this the first anti-litter act was passed 50 years-ago this September.
On Monday September 1, two of Lady Brunner's great grand-daughters will repeat that very first rallying call and echo sentiments from five decades ago. Madeline Brunner 10 and Marnie Breadin 9, will kick off the Big Tidy Up by recreating their great grandmother's 1954 photo call.
Marnie said: "We have heard all about how our great grandmother and how she started Keep Britain Tidy. We think she was cool to start it all off because she didn't like litter and we don't like litter either."
The month-long campaign is being run by Keep Britain Tidy and partners: National Federation of Women's Institutes, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), CleanupUK, Waste Watch and Thames21.
If you are fed up with litter in your neighbourhood and want to make your area better, please join Litteraction and also coordinate or join a Big Tidy Up event by registering at www.thebigtidyup.org.
06/08/2008 Panorama: Notes on a Dirty Island
When writer Bill Bryson first arrived in Britain in 1972, he thought he'd found the loveliest, most cared for country in the world. His massive bestseller Notes From a Small Island celebrated the intrinsic worth of our thoroughly pleasant isle and won the national poll to find the book which best represented modern England.
So, how is modern England doing? Reporting for BBC’s Panorama on Monday 11 August, in a personal and passionate account, Bryson says he's appalled at how we now treat our surroundings like a rubbish tip, and castigates our apparent inability to walk or drive anywhere without leaving a trail of litter. He tours the country, illustrating the scale of the problem, whilst also demonstrating that change can be achieved and we should not despair of the task.
"Travelling for Panorama I was reminded just how beautiful this country is and also how routinely trashed it is by people that litter and fly-tip." Said Bryson, "Studies show that it's done by a very small proportion of people, and of the people who litter, high proportions can be persuaded to change their ways, and that's what gives me hope. We easily filmed enough material for an hour long documentary, but I hope people will enjoy the 30 minute impact of Panorama and then be inspired to help us".
Panorama: Notes on a Dirty Island
BBC One: 8.30pm, August 11th 2008
Reporter: Bill Bryson
09/07/2008 Write an email to your MP through Litteraction.
You can now write an email directly to your MP via the Litteraction website. Visit the ' contact your MP ' section of the information centre and fill in your name and postcode to write a message to your local MP and ask what they are doing to tackle litter in your area.
25/06/2008 Contact your local council through Litteraction and Stop the Drop.
If you are fed up with walking or driving past a local grot spot everyday then you can now send an email to the relevant department of your local authority to complain about the mess and get it cleaned up through the Litteraction website. You may even want to request support from your council with a planned tidy up. Simply visit the 'contact your council' section of the information centre to use this facility.
16/06/2008 Hate litter? Win £450 worth of walking gear by picking it up
Live For The Outdoors, along with Country Walking and Trail, are supporting Stop the Drop and are offering some great prizes to encourage people to get outdoors and do some wombling on their next walk. To enter the competition all you need to do is pick up litter on one mile of a walk and take a picture of the rubbish you have cleared up. To enter the competition and upload your entries visit the Live For The Outdoors website. The competition closes on the 30th June.
21/05/2008 Mendip District Council pledges support to Litteraction
Mendip council have today pledged its support to litteraction.org.uk and offered help to all of the voluntary litter picking groups and individuals in their area. Cathy Day, team leader in the council's street scene department, said "We are delighted to be involved with the local launch of the Litteraction website which will give our community-spirited volunteers the support they need and will make it easy for more people to volunteer.
"Last year we had a number of local groups who borrowed the council's equipment and held successful litter picks in Mendip. We would like to see even more groups coming forward to offer to help keep our district the cleanest in the UK."
If your group is within Mendip District Council boundary and you would like to borrow the litter picking equipment, or want help and advice on combating litter problems in your local area please contact Martin Errington at Mendip District Council on 01749 648999.
To read the full story click here.
23/04/2008 Bill Bryson leaves a message for everyone signed up to Litteraction.org.uk
Bill Bryson has left a message to all of the groups and individuals signed up to Litteraction.org.uk, to read this message and post a reply please visit the sites forum.
17/04/2008: Free materials available from CPRE
Contact CPRE to obtain free posters to advertise your clean up event and for a short time you can also request high visibility jackets and recyled refuse sacks. Please go to the information centre to find out more.
16/04/2008: The Wombles come out of hibernation for Stop the Drop
This morning (Wednesday 16 April) the Wombles, the ultimate litter pickers and recyclers, were wombling free in Leicester Square Gardens, London to help launch CPRE’s national anti-litter and fly-tipping campaign Stop the Drop – the charity’s major campaign against the growing blight of litter and fly-tipping.
Author and President of CPRE Bill Bryson joined the Wombles – Great Uncle Bulgaria, Wellington, Madam Cholet and Tobermory – to discuss the campaign and highlight what CPRE hopes to achieve.
The Wombles first started picking up litter nearly 40 years ago, but our towns and countryside are covered with more litter and fly-tipping than ever before. That’s why they have come out of hibernation and CPRE are urging people up and down the country to follow there example and join the Stop the Drop campaign.
All the evidence shows that litter is getting worse and we need the relevant authorities to be more active, rather than rely on Litter Saints to pick it all up for us’, said Bryson. ‘A tidy town and countryside should be a right, not a surprise. It’s possible. It’s worth it.
Find out more about CPRE's Stop the Drop campaign.
Litter Action goes live!
Friday 11th April 2008, and litteraction.org.uk has gone live.
litteraction.org.uk is run jointly by CPRE and CleanupUK. It’s designed to be a place that promotes and supports local community action.
It is a resource to help individuals and local groups organise cleanup drives and awareness-raising educational activities in their local area. The site’s all about inspiring you to work together with others in your local community to clean it up, making the area where you live a better place to be. As well as being a free-standing resource, the site links to CPRE’s Stop the Drop campaign, and can be used by supporters to take local practical action.