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Companies responsible for some of the best
known brands have been urged to do more to prevent littering
following a survey of rubbish picked up in Britain.
An analysis of 7,796 items of litter has shown Coca-Cola
is the single most littered brand, accounting for 4.9%
of trash, followed by Walkers Crisps at 4.1% and McDonald's
at 3.4%. |
The study - run by anti-litter campaigner Tim Barnes, of
the campaigning group Litter
Heroes - was carried out with the help of 39 volunteers
between September and October last year in mainly rural parts
of England, Wales and Scotland.
Around 70% of the nation's litter arises from the 'food
on the go' industry, according to the survey
- with drinks cans and bottles accounting for 34% of litter,
followed by confectionery wrappers at 16%.
"Clearly, the people who drop litter are directly responsible
for the problem, but manufacturers must accept some responsibility
too," Mr Barnes said. "Littering of these brands is degrading
the environment on a national scale.
"The survey shows that almost everywhere you go in the UK,
you are likely to see a littered Coke can or a Walkers Crisp
packet. It is time these companies took much greater
responsibility for preventing littering of their products
and for the cost of the clean-up."
He added - "It is clear that food on the go products
are highly likely to be littered, yet this survey found that
anti-litter markings on the worst littered brands are either
nonexistent or too small to be credible. Prominent anti-litter
messages should be mandatory on these products."
The volunteer litter pickers reported finding dog mess in
'poop and scoop' bags left as litter. They also picked
up a range of other items - including used nappies, condoms,
sanitary towels, a pair of handcuffs, a chandelier, an inflatable
dinghy and a £5 note.
A statement from McDonald's said that, since 1982, the company
had been working hard to reduce the amount of litter in Britain.
"In 2009, we spent over £2 million on staff labour alone,
picking up litter from a multitude of brands from high streets
up and down the country," it said.
"Our staff walk almost 3,000 miles a week completing litter
patrols several times every day. We are also working in partnership
with many local councils and various Tidy (Britain) groups,
although we recognise the particular challenges of rural litter,
which can be thoughtlessly discarded many miles from our restaurants."
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