Road users urged to ‘Lend a paw – bin your litter’
Animals can become trapped in litter.
Road users are being asked to help protect wildlife by not throwing away litter in a new campaign launched by National Highways.
Created in collaboration with the RSPCA and Keep Britain Tidy, the campaign will ask drivers and passengers to ‘Lend a paw – bin your litter’.
In the last three years, the RSPCA received more than 10,000 reports of animals trapped, injured, or killed in incidents involving discarded litter. This included animals ingesting litter, becoming trapped in it, or being drawn onto the road by food waste before being hit by vehicles.
However, research by National Highways found that half of people surveyed were unaware that fruit peel and apple cores count as litter, despite organic food waste playing a significant role in attracting wildlife to roads.
The campaign, which will highlight that litter is not just paper, plastic and glass, will feature on radio, social media, billboards, and posters at service stations and petrol stations.
To tackle the problem, National Highways has also been trialling AI-enabled enforcement cameras and the use of geofencing to text motorists entering lay-bys where littering is known to be a problem. The organisation will also soon be taking part in the Great British Spring Clean.
RSPCA lead wildlife officer Geoff Edmond said: “Sadly, for every animal we’re able to help there are probably many others that go unseen, unreported and may even lose their lives.
“But it’s really easy for the public to help. When people are out on the roads, we urge them to hold on to their litter until there is an opportunity to dispose of it safely and responsibly - or recycle where appropriate. As we all strive to create a better world for every animal, this could save an animal’s life.”
Image © RSPCA
