The 6 most common branded items dumped as litter in the UK, revealed

"The six most common branded items dumped as litter in the UK have been revealed by a new study. The new report by Planet Patrol was based on nearly 300,000 pieces of litter collected by volunteers over the last six years. Coca-Cola proved to be the worst offender every year from 2019 to 2024, producing 6.5 per cent of all branded litter."

"Once again, it was the Coca-Cola Company which dominated the litter leader board, accounting for 14.34 per cent of all litter in 2023 - one in every seven items. Planet Patrol's study used volunteers to gather 292,472 items of litter that were then reported and labelled through an app. The six years of citizen data reveal how a handful of brands dominate the majority of UK litter."

"Planet Patrol founder Lizzie Carr says: 'Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Walkers, and other familiar names are appearing in our data year after year, and yet we see insufficient action from big brands in dealing with the packaging they produce.' The leading contributors to litter were drinks manufacturers, which produce plastic bottles and metal cans. Besides Coca-Cola, brands such as Lucozade, Red Bull, Stella Artois, Budweiser, and Strongbow also appeared in the top 10."

Volunteers collected 292,472 pieces of litter over six years and reported and labelled them through an app. Coca-Cola accounted for 6.5% of branded litter from 2019–2024 and for 14.34% of all litter in 2023, roughly one in seven items. The top six littered brands were Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Walkers, Tesco, Cadbury, and Lucozade. Seventeen brands appeared in the top 10 across six years. Many brands are owned by large parent companies, and the five parent companies producing the most litter accounted for 38% of all items. Drinks manufacturers were leading contributors, driven by plastic bottles and metal cans.

Read at Mail Online