More about litter

Litter is unpopular with everyone, but we all need to be responsible. Litter can have the following effect:

• Poses as a health hazard
• Can kill wildlife
• Act as a threat to human safety
• Gives a bad impression of the area

Some interesting statistics and figures about litter are below:

• Litter costs almost £1 billion a year in clean-up bills nationally
• 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from our streets every year - enough to fill four Wembley Stadiums
• Chewing gum costs councils £20,000 a year to clean
• 99% of streets in town centres have cigarette litter
• 62% of people in England drop litter - but only 28% will admit to it

This information is from the Keep Britain Tidy Public Litter Survey 2013.

‎Last updated: 16/09/2025 09:15