10 April 2017

INCPEN welcomes the Litter Strategy for England and we hope it will stimulate a new approach to littering that will create a sense of community and civic pride so England really can be a country to be proud of.

Over the years we have seen many good local initiatives that try to prevent deliberate and careless littering and measures that target just some littered items. Unfortunately they have not been able to shift behaviour and there has been no government leadership.

Now, under the Strategy, we look forward to working with all stakeholders to produce a national programme that everyone can support and that tackles all litter.

Most local authorities do an excellent job of clearing up litter.  But it’s money they could use much better elsewhere.

INCPEN Director Jane Bickerstaffe says, “Bottles, cans and wrappers don’t litter themselves but it’s a bad advertisement for a brand to have its name literally in the gutter.  That’s why INCPEN supports comprehensive anti-litter campaigns, commissions research and encourages the use of anti-litter messages.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

  1. A new approach to litter – Neat Streets, “ballot bin”
  2. Charges don’t seem to affect littering

Numbered of littered items 2014 – 2016

2014 2016 % change 2014-2016
Overall 5589 5638 +1%
Supermarket Carrier bags 8 11 +38%
Drinks containers 247 202 -18%
Coffee/tea cups 42 27 -36%

Composition of litter research

  1. Why deposits and charges don’t work.
  • They do not cure the anti-social habit of littering and perversely may increase litter if scavengers empty litter bins to find deposit containers, leaving other waste on the ground.
  • Drinks containers are less than 15% of litter (by any measure). A 2014 survey of litter in England by Keep Britain Tidy for INCPEN showed drinks container litter at under 5% or only 1.2% if chewing gum and cigarette butts are included in the count.
  • They have no effect on other littered items such as crisp bags, leaflets, chewing gum, cigarette butts, newspapers, apple cores.
  1. Whether a material is biodegradable or inert it should not be littered.
    Glass is inert, paper (and dog faeces) are biodegradable but all are objectionable if littered.   The solution is for everyone to put all litter in a bin or take it home.
  2. Why nothing should be littered. See Litter breeds Litter
  3. Why litterers and recyclers are at exactly opposite ends of a behavioural spectrum.

Using recyclable products or installing more recycling systems doesn’t tackle litter: someone who recycles puts their rubbish either in a recycling bin or a regular litter bin.  In contrast, someone who litters can’t be bothered to find any bin.

The Industry Council for research on Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN) is a group of manufacturers and retailers from across the supply chain who carry out research to understand the environmental and social effects of packaging and work together to promote resource efficient packaging for sustainable supply chains.