News Release from Keep Britain Tidy
Over three quarters of 18-24 year olds depend on takeaways to sober themselves up or solve their midnight munchies after a having a few too many drinks in the pubs and clubs.
Launching a new campaign on Monday 3rd December, to reduce fast food litter levels, Keep Britain Tidy revealed that the kebab is the favoured snack after a heavy night drinking, with burgers second.
Although snacking on fast food may stop some outlandish behaviour - it doesn`t alter litter dropping habits as the wrappers are discarded on our streets.
A quarter of our streets suffer from dropped fast food rubbish, this figure unchanged from last year, however in 2003 it stood at just 16%.
Ginette Unsworth, Senior Marketing Manager, Keep Britain Tidy said: "Going for a kebab, pizza or burger and chips after the pubs and bars close is a big part of our country`s night out culture; unfortunately it is detrimental to the appearance of our towns and cities.
Littered food cartons are not only a problem a night, but also during the day when lunchtime leftovers are discarded on our streets.
Minister for Local Environment Quality, Jonathan Shaw said: "People need to realise that their careless behaviour is ruining our streets and public spaces. It only takes a moment to put your unwanted wrappers in a litter bin or even better a recycling bin, but if you discard them you are giving local authorities many hours of work. Cleaning up litter is an expensive business too, it costs councils more than half a billion pounds a year to deal with money that could be put to better use elsewhere.
"I wish the campaign the best of luck on raising awareness on this very serious issue, everyone has a right to enjoy their food, but by discarding your litter you are breaking the law and could be fined up to £80.
Most fast food outlets don`t provide seating areas for customers to eat the food on the premises and those that do won`t let revellers use them because they are wary of their behaviour meaning they are forced out onto the streets.
While Keep Britain Tidy appreciates this reasoning, it believes measures such as more bins - are necessary to accommodate for the number of people who will be walking the streets, kebab in hand, and a need for somewhere to dispose of their rubbish.
Nine of England`s councils are supporting the `Dirty Pig` campaign (pictured): Blackpool, Bournemouth, York, Islington, Chesterfield, Bristol, Sefton, Hounslow and Colchester.
Added Ginette: "Littered fast food cartons are a persistent headache for our towns and cities, especially where there is a successful night time economy. We recognise we have got a tough task on our hands to encourage this age group to change their littering habits but believe support from local councils and fast food outlets will go along way to achieving this.
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