News

England is Tidier...but there's still a way to go

11 February 2010

Keep Britain Tidy can today announce that new figures show some improvement in the amount of litter found in England's streets, parks and public spaces.

But there is still a lot more work to do.

The Local Environmental Quality Survey England (LEQSE), funded by Defra, showed that in the last year the number of sites where non-alcoholic drinks cans and bottles were found was down from 57% of areas surveyed to 51%, with small decreases in the number of sites with cigarette ends, fast food litter, broken glass and discarded food.

However, there was a slight increase in the number of sites where dog mess was found - up to 8% from 6% last year and increases in the amount of graffiti and plastic bags.

Environment Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick said:

"I am grateful to Keep Britain Tidy for their efforts in gathering this information on the cleanliness of our open spaces.

"It really does matter to all of us that our streets and places where we live and work are getting a little cleaner, but there is much more to do. It only takes a little effort to put our litter in the bin, but it makes a huge difference to our own wellbeing and to the environment.

Phil Barton, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive said:

"The report shows us that councils are working hard to keep our local areas clean and we urge them to continue their good work.

 "There is still work to be done to rid our communities from litter, graffiti and grime.  It is up to each of us to take personal responsibility for our actions, to support councils' efforts to manage our streets and to make a lasting change to our local environments."

Keep Britain Tidy carries out the survey to assess the cleanliness of our streets, parks and other areas. 12,000 sites were surveyed in 54 local council areas to show the prevalence of different forms of litter in our open spaces. The information is used by local authorities to see how they are performing against the national average and to get an overall picture of how clean or dirty the country is.

To see a summary of the report click here.

To see the full version of the report click here.

Comments

Comment on this article

• Iris Heighway, East Midlands

  I am from Northamptonshire anyway, on Wednesday my partner and I visited the NEC at Birmingham and I was amazed near that area how much litter was laying on grass verges and in a few fields etc. Whatever is wrong with all these people throwing cans, bottles, crisp packets etc onto the ground, why do they not take them home etc and put them in bins. Going from our village in Roade towards Juction 15 of the M1 again there is a lot of litter laying on the ground, I just do not understand people. I often pick up litter that young people have thrown on the ground. I am totally against NOW CARRIER BAGS as often one sees especially TESCO carrier bags laying on grounds or hanging in trees and shrubs again by the side of the road. I feel we should RESPECT GOD as it is not our planet.

• Robert Butler., East Midlands

  its good news to here too with a slight decrease in litter (except fag ends near bustops/pubs/clubs. dog mess is a major problem where i live though as i have to clean it up daily as thats my job YUCK!!!

• Jackie Forrest, South East

  I quite agree with Nicola and Iain - far too many people see nothing wrong in throwing their rubbish down - "that's why you pay your Council Tax !" (for the council operatives to pick it up?) I would like to see the Council refrain from litter-picking the open space where I live for one month - just deal with the 8 litter bins and one dog bin - which is what their job should be about. Then everyone could see the extent of the littering - it couldn't be ignored - and if it made some people act and think differently it would be worth the mess.