On Monday, the government published its new anti-littering strategy for England, which makes a number of proposals for new enforcement, education and community engagement.
A Coca-Cola European Partners spokesperson said the firm agrees that much more needs to be done to tackle anti-social littering behaviours.
“We welcome the new approach outlined by Defra (The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in this far-reaching strategy,” the spokesperson said.
Measures proposed by the environment, transport and communities departments include:
- Creating a new expert group to look at further ways of cutting the worst kinds of litter, including plastic bottles and drinks containers, cigarette ends and fast food packaging.
- The most serious litterers potentially being hit with £150 fines, while vehicle owners could receive penalty notices when it can be proved litter was thrown from their car
- Producing new guidance on “binfrastructure” (the design, number and location of public litter bins and other items of street furniture) for local areas to help them reduce levels of litter
- Exploring the ways in which packaging and packaging design can contribute to reducing litter.
“All of us – consumers, local authorities, government and business – have a role to play in improving our environment,” the Coca-Cola European Partners spokesperson said.
“Therefore, we are pleased to have been invited to join Defra’s new expert group to provide advice to the government on issues such as how best to increase the recovery of plastic drinks containers and reduce littering in the process.
“We have long been committed to taking the necessary action to improve the sustainability of our packaging and look forward to working with other like-minded organisations to explore new ideas and approaches that will support the overall ambitions of this strategy.”
The strategy also outlines measures to protect seas, oceans and marine life from pollution, building the 5p plastic bag charge. The government will also follow the strategy with a new national anti-littering campaign in 2018, working with industry and the voluntary sector to drive behaviour change.
A consultation process on the new enforcement measures is now open until 18 June 2018.
Environment secretary Andrea Leadsom said: “Litter is something that affects us all – blighting our countryside, harming our wildlife, polluting our seas, spoiling our towns, and giving visitors a poor impression of our country.
“Our litter strategy will tackle this antisocial behaviour by building an anti-litter culture; making it easier for people to dispose of rubbish; and hitting litter louts in the pocket.
“We want to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it, and tackling litter is an important part of our drive to make the country a better place to live and visit.”
