Fast Food Giants Litter British Streets

Litter in Great Britain is growing at an unprecedented rate, according to a survey just released by Keep Britain Tidy.

The chief culprits are McDonalds, KFC, and other big fast-food restaurant chains.

The survey found that 58 percent of the rubbish which litters Liverpool city centre, is comprised of wrappings from fish and chips or kebabs.

In Birmingham, McDonalds is the primary offender, accounting for 41 percent of litter.

In London, the McDonald’s numbers are likewise high, with 53 percent of the trash on the city streets coming from the Golden Arches. Burger King, by contrast, accounts for just three percent.

Representatives from Keep Britain Tidy say there is no evidence that the litter problem will get better any time soon.

They claim that the street trash is also probably feeding our rat population which has grown to an estimated 65-80 million.

That’s part of the impetus for the group’s “Dirty Pig” campaign: to draw the attention of the public and of restaurant chains to the growing problem of filth.

Fast food chain giants such as KFC and Subway and Ronald himself, McDonald’s, as well as your local friendly chippy and high street chain of bakers Greggs, need to do more to discourage littering by their customers says Phil Barton, a representative of Keep Britain Tidy.

And some companies are responding. McDonalds has committed to requiring its restaurants to make three “litter patrols,” sweeping the streets near their restaurants each day.

And KFC representatives have said they are looking for ways to cut out unnecessary packaging for their fried chicken and side items, packaging which might otherwise get thrown on the ground.