Anti-litter campaign #DTOF returns with football pitch-sized eco artwork as tougher penalties sought

Anti-litter campaign #DTOF returns with football pitch-sized eco artwork as tougher penalties sought - InYourArea

The artwork features a lesser spotted woodpecker trapped in a disposable facemask

InYourArea's anti-littering campaign is back, and we need your support.

As lockdown restrictions ease and the weather warms up heading towards summer, sadly it's all too likely that scenes of discarded rubbish will once again blight parks, beaches and neighbourhoods.

And that's not to mention the increase many have seen in their communities of PPE - mainly single-use disposable facemasks - simply being thrown to the floor.

So we've rebooted Don't Trash Our Future, which started last summer, and we've done it in some spectacular style with a football pitch-sized mural painted - using biodegradable materials - onto a field in the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire.

The artwork features a lesser spotted woodpecker trapped in a disposable facemask, to illustrate the impact of littering on wildlife. The lesser spotted woodpecker is an endangered species found in the Chilterns - and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and plays a key role in the local ecosystem.

Don't Trash Our Future, which is run in partnership with campaign group Clean Up Britain, aims to achieve two things - increasing the maximum on-the-spot fine for littering to £1,000 or 100 hours of community litter picking, and making it obligatory for local authorities to enforce the law on litterbugs. We need your signature on our petition to help make that happen