Government new anti-littering strategy aims to create “green generation”

As part of a new anti-litter strategy, the Government has unveiled plans to create a “green generation” of children better educated about the importance of properly dealing with waste.

Unveiled on April 10 by Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, the ‘Litter Strategy for England’ aims to create a “green generation” by educating children to lead the fight against litter through an increased number of eco-schools and boosting participation in national clean-up days.

“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,” Ms. Leadsom said.

The strategy also aims to reduce the near £800m cost to the taxpayer of clean-up costs through better enforcement of higher fines of up to £150 for those caught littering.

“Our litter strategy will tackle this anti-social behaviour by building an anti-litter culture; making it easier for people to dispose of rubbish; and hitting litter louts in the pocket,” Ms. Leadsom said.

Other measures outlined include the provision of more public litter bins and creating a new expert group to look at further ways of cutting the items most frequently littered, including plastic bottles and drinks containers, cigarette ends and fast food packaging.

The strategy also outlines measures to protect seas, oceans and marine life from pollution. It builds on the success of the 5p plastic bag charge, which has led to a 40 percent decrease in bags found on the beach.

The plastics industry has long maintained the importance of educating the public about the responsible disposal of litter and education around recycling and reuse.

The British Plastics Foundation has recently announced an education initiative of its own where it will work alongside the Marine Conservation Society to educate children about the importance of preventing litter ending up in the marine environment. You can read more about this here.