CONCERNED about the amount of litter on Bridgwater streets, two councillers set about finding out where the litter was orginating from.
District Councillor for the Bridgwater Westover Ward and Leader of Bridgwater Town Council, Brian Smedley, said: "One of the major problems of our consumer society is the amount of waste we produce.
"When it comes to take-away food, there is the dual problem of excessive packaging and litter.
"The number of people who eat their burgers, drink their coffee and then throw the containers and wrappers on the streets, or in our parks is astonishing.
"But what is also astonishing is the amount of packaging used. It takes most people about five minutes to eat a take-away burger, so why wrap it in serviettes then a bag, then a box and then another bag?
"Perhaps take-aways see it as a form of advertising to have their names adorning our pavements, parks and hedgerows?"
Town Councillor for Bridgwater Eastover Ward, Glen Burrows, teamed up with Cllr Smedley, joining street cleaners on the litter trail.
They walked along Watson’s Lane, East Quay, The Clink and Church Street, to identify the sources of bottles, cans, bags and wrappers discarded there.
In a statement, the coucillors reported: "Top of the poll was McDonalds, next came Costa , followed by Happy Shopper and Greggs.
"The heroes are our street collectors, employed by Sedgemoor District Council, who start work at 5.30am, so that we can at least wake up to a litter-free world."
But the pair beleive it shouldn't just be the street collecters' responsibility - everyone can do their bit to clean up the environment.
Cllr Burrows said: "Firstly, of course, we can stop dropping litter.
"Many people do it without thinking, so sometimes all they need is a friendly reminder.
"Take-aways could make a point of asking their customers to use the bins provided. Although bins aren’t always provided."
However, tackling litter is on the agenda for large corporations and some are taking practical action against it.
For example, McDonald's website states: "Since 1982, we’ve been collecting the litter that’s dropped in the local area around our restaurants.
"Our litter patrols and clean-up events walk around 150,000 miles a year, keeping the UK litter free."
Some companies also financially support local efforts to keep streets clean. On the Litter Watch website, for example, it lists business funders as McDonald's, Costa and Greggs.
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