8m Brits admit to littering 

In a survey conducted by Keep Britain Tidy and KFC, nearly one in six adults said that they littered in the past year.  

Keep Britain Tidy estimated that more than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day.   

Out of those who said they hide their litter habits, the main driver tended to be guilt.  

34% said they lied as they know that “littering is wrong” and 27% said that they hid the habit as they recognise the impact of littering on the environment.  

Why do people litter?  

Out of the 2,000 adults who were surveyed, 25% cited “being in a rush” as the reason for their littering, and 24% said that they assumed someone else would clean up after them.  

Finally, 17% said that they did not think of littering as a significant issue.  

A recent report from Zero Waste Scotland found that many of the causes of littering and fly-tipping are not currently being addressed through existing interventions. 

The study – “Causes of Litter and Flytipping: A behavioural systems mapping project using the System Effects Method” – looked at mapping influences on litter and fly-tipping behaviours through stakeholder engagement and a review of existing literature.  

Alongside the Centre of Behaviour Change, Zero Waste Scotland looked at three influences that cause fly-tipping and littering:  

• The desire not to be inconvenienced. 

• Social pressures and being unaware of responsibilities in relation to waste. 

• Structural factors such as the availability of appropriate disposal routes and lack of a deterrent for negative behaviours. 

The partnership concluded that a comprehensive approach to behaviour change would require multiple, complementary interventions being delivered together. 

When it comes to littering, the study found that more intervention is needed around “opportunity” and “motivation” as well as focusing on an individuals’ awareness and understanding of the issues.  

A desire for clean and litter-free communities  

85% of those surveyed by KFC and Keep Britain Tidy said that adults say they hate seeing rubbish in their communities, with around three quarters saying that it makes them feel sad and angry. 

At the same time, 41% of those surveyed said they would not act if they saw someone littering.  

Jenny Packwood, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at KFC UK and Ireland, said: “Littering has no place on the streets of our towns and cities, nor in the communities we serve.  

“We may be famous for our fried chicken, but with great chicken comes great responsibility. That means being a good neighbour and taking responsibility to help keep our streets clean and tidy. We’re pleased to continue our support for Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean for the fifth year running, as we take action alongside the people in our communities to do our part and keep our streets clean.” 

30,000 team members from KFC will join Keep Britain Tidy in support of the annual Great British Spring Clean this week.  

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, added: “At Keep Britian Tidy, we believe that everyone deserves to love where they live. It is wonderful that tens of thousands of KFC staff are joining our tenth annual Great British Spring Clean and showing that everyone can play a part in protecting the places they live, work and play.”