Almost a quarter of branded litter comes from three drinks firms, report says

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 per cent) 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, Coca-Cola 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”.

Such a scheme would see consumers pay a small deposit when purchasing drinks bottles and cans, which is returned when the containers are taken to a collection point.

The survey revealed that plastics have fallen from making up two-thirds of litter (67 per cent) logged by Planet Patrol in 2019 to half (51 per cent) in 2021, suggesting a shift in consumer behaviour to avoiding single-use plastics. Planet Patrol founder Lizzie Carr said: “Just 10 parent companies were responsible for more than 50 per cent of branded litter in the UK last year, and we’re seeing the same offenders, like Coca-Cola, repeatedly in our data.”