News Archive

Northern Rail on track for tackling newspaper litter

07 January 2010

Keep Britain Tidy today praised Northern Rail for a new campaign launched combating newspaper litter on trains.

Posters asking passengers to bin their papers rather than leave them strewn in carriages have gone up this week.

Northern Rail is working in partnership with the Metro newspaper which is handed out to passengers free at train stations across the country.

Every weekday 1.3 milllion copies of the Metro are distributed across the country to commuters making it the world’s largest free newspaper. Unfortunately some of these copies end up as litter, which is why the steps taken by both the Metro and Northern Rail is supported by the anti-litter charity Keep Britain Tidy.

Passengers are encouraged to recycle their newspaper and are reminded that leaving the newspaper on the train does count as littering.

Karen Booth, head of sustainability, Northern Rail said: "We work hard to provide our passengers with a clean and tidy on-train environment but one of the biggest sources of litter on trains is newspapers, often left behind after the morning commute.  We're delighted to be working with Metro to encourage passengers to recycle their paper, rather than littering."

The posters are part of a wider campaign to encourage recycling newspapers at train stations.

Northern Rail and the Metro will be installing paper recycling bins at Manchester Victoria with the potential to roll this out to other train stations if the initiative proves successful.

Nicola Peate from Keep Britain Tidy said, “We are delighted that Northern Rail has taken such active steps to combat littering and its partnership with the Metro is exactly what we need to see from big companies who can really make a difference.

"The posters are eye-catching and fun and will really make an impact on what is becoming an increasingly big problem.”

Comments

Comment on this article

• Brian Reynolds Gravesend Kent, South East

  I commute from Kent into London and use the London underground. The trains and in particular, the tube is a dust bin in rush hour; newspapers strewn behind seats and on the floor and platforms. A feeble message is announced on the tube to take you litter with you but it should be more specific. South Eastern Trains and London Underground would not undertake such an anti-litter campaign as Northern Rail; in the south the railway companies are only interested in profit and not the environment of the railway.

• Keep Britain Tidy

  Hi Elle and John, The message on the posters is to recycle. The posters reads "Please recycle your newspaper, leaving it behind is littering". Northern Rail are also going to be installing paper recycling bins at Manchester Victoria with plans to do this at other stations too if it proves to be successful. As for sharing papers, that's a good point John and it could be argued that passing a paper on to another passenger is recycling! But often papers are just left on seats and no-one sees it as their responsibility to bin it at the end of the day. Newspaper racks are a good idea. Can anyone else think of any other solutions? Nicola, Web Editor

• Elle Hammond, West Midlands

  I agree with John - surely Northern Line and the Metro should be encouraging people to recycle these newspapers rather than asking them to put them in the bin. I support the idea behind getting people to tidy up after themselves but would much rather see a recycling message on these posters than a bin it message. Maybe recycling bins on trains and as you leave station could be introduced.