Study reveals what items are clogging UK hedgerows and waterways

A new study by Loughborough University has revealed plastics and drinks packaging to be the most common items littering the UK’s hedgerows and waterways.

Researchers, who worked in collaboration with non-profit Planet Patrol, were surprised by the findings since European-wide initiatives are attempting to reduce single-use plastic.

Scientists from Nottingham Trent and Keele universities also joined the study and used data from the Planet Patrol app which litter pickers can use to track how much rubbish they’re collecting.

43,187 items of rubbish found across the UK were examined and it was discovered that overwhelmingly the most common type of material, at 63%, was plastic.

Just 14% was made of metal and 12% was composite, meaning it’s made from two or more materials.

Most of the litter, 56%, had been used for packaging, with drinks containers accounting for 33.4% of it.

However, when it came to the drinks industry, plastic was not the most predominant material, but metal cans were at 33.6%.

Out of all the packaging found with branding still visible, 26% was associated with the Coca-Cola company, Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo.

Lead author of the study and geographer at Loughborough University, Dr Tom Stanton, explained: ‘This study concludes that corporate policies focus more on the materials of the products they put to market, than their products’ environmental fates.

‘The current decade has the potential to be a decade of change with respect to both the amounts and types of litter found in the environment.

‘We hope this study raises awareness of the extent and diversity of litter across the UK, and in particular the profile of litter that is often marketed as a greener alternative to plastic but is still a problem in the environment.’

In the UK single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds have been banned, a 10p levy applies to plastic bags and the government is currently considering a ban on single-use plates and cutlery.

Dr Stanton added: ‘The impact of legislation and policy in this area will need to be monitored if the success of green initiatives is to be effectively judged, however, the data against which future comparisons can be made is limited.

‘We hope that this dataset can provide a reference for future work that attempts to assess the success of the legislation and policy that is set to change throughout the current decade.’

Researchers hope to build on the results by exploring the types of litter found in other countries and keep monitoring the UK dataset over the next few years to see the impact of legislation and policy changes.

Photo by Maria Mendiola