Smoking litter - it's no small problem

Cigarette butts, matches, empty packets and their wrappers are England’s biggest litter problem and are found on 78% of our streets.

Phil Barton, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive said: “Cigarettes are litter – once dropped they are very difficult to clean up and blight the majority of the streets and roads in England. Smokers need to act responsibly, get a personal ashtray or use a bin.

“We have had early talks with cigarette manufacturers and hope to be able to work with them to tackle this major problem for our streets.  Quick action is undoubtedly needed.”

Keep Britain Tidy's campaign to highlight the problem of smoking litter in London can be viewed below.