Despite the cost of living crisis, one area of the economy is booming: take away food and drinks – that creates litter.
Grab and go is the preferred option, rather than having a proper sit down coffee or meal break. Too busy to stop for lunch? Bored at the bus stop? Need something late at night? Fast, cheap and easy, the demand for take away food continues to soar and alongside it, the demand for single use packaging. Sadly, quite a bit of this ends up on our streets as litter.
Despite a potential £500 fine for littering, it seems to be everywhere, even in the smartest streets and loveliest parks. Not only is fast food catastrophic for our health, fast food packaging litter is spreading like a plague in the UK.
The curse of coffee cups
The demand for coffee seems insatiable and coffee shops in the UK are big business. Thirsty Brits get through up to five billion disposable coffee cups annually and it’s estimated that half a million of these are littered every single day. It’s a shocking and increasing problem. The major coffee retailers are making fat profits but what are they doing to address this issue? Not enough it seems.
Disposable coffee cups are made of both paper and plastic and aren’t fully recyclable. Most local authority recycling centres won’t accept them due to their tightly bonded polyethylene lining. It is estimated that only 1 in 400 is recycled, by specialist companies, despite the green claims printed on the cups. The simple answer of course is to drink coffee, or any drink, out of a cup that can be washed and re-used multiple times. Like people have always done. The grab and go culture needs to evolve and the pace of change needs to speed up in 2024.
Just 1% of coffee cups are recycled, according to this article.
Litter breeds litter
Keep Britain Tidy researched the environmental effects of litter and found that plastic bottles and coffee cups are ‘one of the most visible items littered, with instantly recognisable branding and their presence creates disproportionately more littering as a result.’ Worryingly, visible litter seems to prompt others, either consciously or subconsciously, to do the same. Whilst local councils are responsible for sweeping streets and removing litter, we all have our part to play. The vast majority of people don’t drop litter, but the few who do create ugliness, attract vermin and ‘spoil it for the rest’ as teachers used to say.
Sustainability in street sweeping
Street sweeping machines help to keep the urban curse of litter at bay and there are a wide range available.
From small, compact models for narrow spaces to much larger models for wide streets, they can all handle various types of debris and surfaces. Beyond improving the visual appeal of our streets, these machines also prevent litter and other pollutants from entering the waterways, improving our water quality. One of the most significant advances in street sweeping technology is the shift towards electric power.
The Dulevo 52 EH is a compact and ultra-modern, walk-behind pedestrian sweeper. Charged by 12V electricity and powered by batteries, it is both quiet and efficient. If you need something eco but a bit bigger, then the Dulevo 75 EH Ride-on Sweeper could be perfect for your requirements. You can watch an explainer video of the Dulevo 75 EH here.
For these machines and many more, contact us at Lincoln Cleaning Technology to provide solutions for all your industrial floor cleaning needs.
If you have a question about one of our products, our services or availability, just get in touch via email, phone, or drop us a message via the contact page or our active LinkedIn channel.
