More than 26.8 million UK adults - nearly half - admit to littering - Keep Britiain Tidy
Research released ahead of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean reveals nation’s shocking littering habits that hard-working volunteers are battling to deal with.
Almost half of UK adults (49%) admit littering in the past 12 months.
A YouGov survey on behalf of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy shows astonishing littering behaviour, with more than 15.1 million people (28%) admitting to dropping unwanted food items such as fruit peel, sandwich crusts and ice cream cones ‘because it will biodegrade’.
More than 5.4 million – one in 10 (10%) – admitted they left finished items or packaging behind after sitting down to eat or drink while more than 3.7 million (seven per cent) left rubbish at a train or bus stop.
It comes ahead of the charity’s Great British Spring Clean campaign (March 13th to 29th) which has empowered millions of Litter Heroes across the nation over the past decade to pledge to pick more than 4.5 million bags of harmful rubbish from our streets, parks and beaches.
More than 3.2 million adults (six per cent) said they left or dropped rubbish because it was too dirty, smelly or messy to take with them, while 2.4 million left it in a hedge, bush or tree (five per cent) and 3.2 million (six per cent) admitted throwing or dropping litter from a vehicle window.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “Litter is litter and always bad news for the environment. It doesn’t matter if you leave a cup on a wall or hide it in a bush, it’s still litter and it’s still pollution. Heroic volunteers who take part in our Great British Spring Clean, as well as hard working local authority staff end up cleaning up the mess. Littering comes with a huge cost to us all with local authorities spending a staggering £1 billion a year tackling rubbish at a time when there are other challenges this money could, and should, be spent on. Our message this year is help our army of volunteers and our wildlife – and show your love for where you live – by doing the right thing: putting it in a bin or taking it home.”