Quarter of litter found was drink containers

COCA-COLA, Pepsico and Heineken products made up almost a quarter of branded litter found by volunteers during a UK environmental clean-up project.

More than half (51 per cent) of identifiable litter can be traced back to just 10 brands – Cocacola, Mcdonald’s, Cadbury, Red Bull, Walkers, Lucozade, Stella Artois, Tesco, Budweiser and Strongbow – according to the third annual Planet Patrol report.

The drinks industry is the largest polluter for the second year running and responsible for more than a third of litter found in 2020 and 2021, with items including cans, plastic and glass bottles, single-use cups and lids.

Coca-cola, Pepsico and Heineken packaging made up almost a quarter of all branded litter (23%) found in the annual count. A total of 85,326 pieces of litter were recorded by more than 5,400 Planet Patrol app users in 2021.

For a third consecutive year, Cocacola produced the most branded litter, accounting for more than one in 10 pieces logged.

Planet Patrol is urging the Government to support an “all in” deposit return scheme across the UK “without delay”.

A Heineken UK spokeswoman said: “We continue to make huge strides in reducing plastic and making it easier for people to recycle our products.

“We’ve removed all consumer-facing plastic on packaged products and our ‘Green Grip’ eradicates the need for plastic rings on cans, instead providing a totally recyclable and compostable cardboard solution, which to date has removed 235 tonnes of plastic.”

Pepsico declined to comment.