Litter Composition Survey of England Aug-Oct 2008

Packaging accounts for just 1.3% of the number of littered items dropped in Englands streets and countryside according to a new survey released today by INCPEN and carried out by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. Previous surveys were carried out in 2004 and 1996. Despite the low proportion of packaging, the reality is that litter remains an important issue for us. We will continue to work with Keep Britain Tidy, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and our members to tackle it and encourage people to dispose of used items more responsibly. Littering is a behavioural issue and this survey records what people drop. It shows that chewing gum is the single most littered item, with a five-fold increase since 2004. Cigarette ends have doubled but now make up only a fifth of littering actions compared to a third in 2004.