Litter-ally shameful: Eight million Brits admit to littering

Nearly one in six adults (15%) have littered in the past year – the equivalent to around eight million Brits – but the majority (75%) hide their litter bug behaviour from friends and family, new research from KFC UK&I has found.

The research comes as Britain faces a worsening litter problem, with statistics from Keep Britain Tidy estimating that more than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK every day.

Now, 30,000 team members from 1000 KFC restaurants joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy to support the annual Great British Spring Clean, a nationwide campaign to clean up local communities.

When asked about their reasons for littering, being in a rush (25%), assuming someone else would clean up after them (24%) and not thinking littering is a significant issue (17%) were among the most popular answers given.

The research also found that among Britain’s litter bugs a large majority (75%) have either lied or tried to hide their behaviour from those around them. The main driver of this was guilt: over a third (34%) lied because they knew littering was wrong, while over a quarter (27%) recognise its harmful impact on the environment.

However, the research does reveal an overwhelming desire among Brits to have clean and litter free communities. Nearly nine in ten (85%) adults say they hate seeing rubbish in their communities, with three quarters saying that it makes them feel sad (76%) and angry (72%).

Despite this, the study found that Brits could be better at taking action when they see littering take place. When asked how they would react to seeing someone litter, two in five (41%) said they would do absolutely nothing.

Jenny Packwood, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer, 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 are 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.’

Allison Ogden-Newton, 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.’

As part of KFC’s anti-litter efforts, the business previously announced a number of measures to ensure the issue is tackled all year round. These include:

Daily litter picking. KFC’s 1000 restaurant teams undertake daily litter picks to clean up the streets around their restaurants.
Training initiatives for KFC’s 30,000 team members to increase their knowledge of the environmental impact of litter.
Anti-littering marketing messages, like #ItsLitterPickin’Good, used across KFC restaurants including window and drive thru signage, in restaurant audio and menu board displays to encourage responsible behaviour.