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Torbay is a popular tourist destination which offers a lively and fun late night experience in the form of restaurants, pubs and clubs. It also has a large number of takeaway food premises in a relatively small area offering tasty treats to residents and visitors. In Torbay, litter from takeaway food is at its worst during the summer months, when a large number of visitors come to the area and enjoy a meal outdoors, and after dark when the pubs and clubs have closed and the midnight munchies set in.
Reasons why takeaway food litter is a bad thing:
- It looks bad and can smell unpleasant.
- It can attract scavenging animals including rats and seagulls.
- It is expensive to clean up.
- Littered areas are more likely to attract further anti-social behaviours and crimes.
- Food litter can make an area appear rundown and neglected.
- Local people deserve to live in a clean and safe environment.
- Visitors are less likely to want to return to Torbay if it is littered and dirty.
So what causes the litter?
- During the summer and late at night, many people make use of the bins, which means that they can overfill in a short space of time. This means that the litter then overflows onto the street.
- Irresponsible behaviour! Some people drop or throw takeaway food and the packaging onto the floor without considering who is going to pick up their mess, and the damage they are doing to the local environment.
Taking a Stand
Early in 2009, Torbay was selected as one of the ten local authorities to receive support from Keep Britain Tidy for a ‘Dirty Pig’ campaign aimed at reducing street litter caused by takeaway food and drink. The high profile campaign encouraged the public to dispose of their litter responsibly and promoted the message that ‘Litter Louts Have Snouts’. Takeaway food premises were also encouraged to take positive steps to reduce any litter associated with their premises.
Throughout the campaign the public were encouraged to:
- Take their litter home for disposal, if they couldn’t find a bin.
- Avoid trying to cram rubbish into a full litter bin.
- Advise staff at takeaway food premises if you do not require a bag.
- Encourage friends to dispose of their food and drink using a bin.
- Set a good example to others (including children and young people) by disposing of takeaway food litter using a bin.
- Help make dropping litter socially unacceptable.
- Report heavily littered areas.
Any businesses that sell takeaway food can take active steps to reduce the amount of litter produced by their premises and further information can be found on our ‘Commercial Waste and the Law’ WebPage. Businesses can also display anti-litter posters at their premises and Keep Britain Tidy offer a range of free posters, including the posters featured for the Dirty Pig campaign. To view the posters available visit the Keep Britain Tidy website at Keep Britain Tidy - Order Materials 
The Law
Dropping litter, including food and drink items, is an offence and those who are caught can be issued with a £75 Fixed Penalty Notice. These are issued as an alternative to prosecution which means that if someone receives a Fixed Penalty Notice and chooses to not pay it, they could face a higher fine or be prosecuted.
If there is a litter problem related to a particular premises or area, the council can issue Street Litter Control Notices under section 21 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. Such a Notice places a legal requirement on businesses to ensure that steps are taken to reduce litter and clear up any litter generated as a result of their commercial activities.
How You Can Help
Some businesses are more likely to generate litter as a result of their trade. For example often takeaway food cartons and drinks become littered items. Businesses can take positive steps to reduce the litter from their business, such as:
- Displaying anti-litter posters (Keep Britain Tidy can provide a range of fun and free posters on request) Keep Britain Tidy - Order Materials
- Asking customers if they would like a bag, as this can help to reduce unnecessary packaging.
- Keeping the frontage of the premises clean and litter free (which can only be good for business!).
- Ensuring that the businesses commercial waste is stored securely to avoid causing litter.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has produced a voluntary code of practice which aims to help businesses reduce their litter. The ‘Food on the Go’ voluntary code of practice encourages businesses and local authorities to work together to try and resolve litter problems. For further information please you can order Keep Britain Tidy: Food on the Go - Mini Code of Practice . If you would like to sign up to the voluntary code, contact the Community Protection Team on 01803 208091 or E-mail community.protection@torbay.gov.uk to find out more.
. If you would like to sign up to the voluntary code, contact the Community Protection Team on 01803 208091 or E-mail community.protection@torbay.gov.uk to find out more. Report It!
If you know of any areas in Torbay that are heavily littered by takeaway food and its packaging, please report it on telephone 01803 207900 or online via the lik below:
Prior to calling you may want to think about the following:
- When are the littering offences taking place (i.e. does the littering happen on a particular day of the week or at a specific time)?
- What type of items are being littered?
If you have any creative ideas as to how the council could work with the community to tackle takeaway food litter, contact the Community Protection Team at E-mail: community.protection@torbay.gov.uk with your suggestions.
Making a Difference
If you would like to get involved in tackling litter in your community, you can take part in or arrange your own Big Tidy Up event. The Big Tidy Up is a national campaign run by Keep Britain Tidy, which aims to get people outside and busy clearing their local area of litter. To find out more visit Help Keep Your Bay Tidy!.
Related Documents
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Dirty Pig
Information leaflet on the Dirty Pig campaign being run by ENCAMS and Torbay Council.
Last updated: 03/02/2010, 5:40pm (678 KB) -
Dirty Pig - Business
Information leaflet for businesses in Torbay about the Dirty Pig campaign being run by ENCAMS and Torbay Council.
Last updated: 03/02/2010, 6:37pm (222 KB)
Related Websites
Contact Community Safety
- Tel: 01803 208025
- Email: community.protection@torbay.gov.uk
- Fax: 01803 208854
