According to a report from CPRE , The Woodland Trust, which kept its 1,000 sites open during the pandemic to give people the opportunity to exercise and enjoy wildlife, also saw a surge in fly tipping as well as littering, costing the charity £134,000 to clear up at a time when charities are struggling financially.
The report asks: "Why did we drop so much litter during lockdown?" and came up with thought provoking answers:
"One principal reason is that people were using many more disposable items as takeaway services – which tend to involve single-use items – became more popular and after initial, although unfounded, concerns about the hygiene risks of reusable options. But this has had a direct impact on the volume and type of litter. We have also seen the return of single-use coffee cups, instead of re-usable ones. Additionally, many supermarkets and food outlets are now wrapping individual items of bakery and fruit in plastic. People are also using — and discarding — more disposable plates, cups and bottles when they eat outdoors.
Fear and frustration have also been factors. Fear of infection drove the increase in the number of single-use items and encouraged takeaway packaging. The pandemic seems to have propelled a jump backwards in weaning ourselves off single-use plastics and single-use takeaway containers such as coffee cups, with loose items in supermarkets becoming rarer and many cafes refusing to use reusable cups, despite scientists defending the safety of reusable alternatives that can be washed easily. This false notion that single-use items are safer likely increased the number of people opting for single-use items and increasing opportunities for littering.
Also, much of this littering was more negligent than wilful, probably reflecting a lack of familiarity with how to use open spaces. Many people who were used to socialising in cafes, bars and restaurants would not be familiar with the different conventions that apply in parks and open spaces and might not be aware of the consequences of discarding their litter. For instance, some people may simply think they’re doing someone a favour by creating a job for someone to clean up litter without considering the burden on cash-strapped councils or wildlife. Let’s not forget though that the majority respected the environment and took their litter home or left it in the bins provided.
Understanding the reasoning behind littering behaviour in lockdown will help us prevent similar problems in the future and there is a need for more formal research into this. But clearly, we cannot rely on people’s good will alone. A concerted push from the government is needed to change this type of behaviour, including the use of incentives.