Report calls for deposit scheme to tackle UK’s litter problem

The Litterbugs report cited the success of a deposit scheme in New York State, which gives at least 5 cents back on each can or bottle and has reduced roadside litter by 70%.

However, the UK government has already said it will not introduce a deposit scheme for drinks packaging until its environmental benefits are clear.

The report also said that local authorities needed to be more consistent in imposing penalties for dropping rubbish to combat a growing litter problem across the UK and recommended setting up a single national body to co-ordinate solutions to an issue that costs local authorities £500m a year to clear up.

In the report’s foreword, Bill Bryson, president of CPRE, said there was clearly a need for action to tackle litter that was dropped by the “squalid behaviour of an inconsiderate minority”.

He added that fines were an “essential enforcement tool” that needed to be applied “far more consistently than is currently the case”.

Chairman of the Local Government Association Paul Bettison said local authorities were doing their utmost to tackle the problem of littering, but that current laws meant they were doing so “with their hands behind their backs”.

“An estimated seven out of every 10 pieces of litter are dropped from cars, yet councils are virtually powerless to stop this,” he added.

Other recommendations in the report include the provision of bins and ashtrays in strategic sites.

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