Food on the go litter is more than discarded fast food and its packaging. It includes everything from drink cartons and bottles to sandwich and confectionery wrapping.
As people lead busier lives and licensing laws are reformed allowing establishments that supply alcohol, entertainment and refreshments to stay open later, the market for food on the go has increased resulting in a growing tide of litter on our streets.
- Litter is unsightly, generally degrades an area and takes a significant amount of time and money to clean up.
- Recently, however, there are signs that this growth has slowed and may even be in reverse.
- People are spending less on food eaten out and some types of food on the go litter have plateaued while others have even reduced.
- It is too early to say whether this trend will continue. However, in order to ensure it is sustainable it must be accompanied by a change in people’s behaviour and this can only be brought about by a combination of education, campaigning and enforcement.