Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to support (a) litter picks and (b) other community-based anti-litter schemes.

The Government continues to use its influence to support national clear-up days, which help to empower and engage communities in tackling this problem and to change attitudes towards littering.

This month, we are encouraging as many people and businesses as possible to participate in the Great British September Clean and Great British Beach Clean, while following Government guidance on staying safe outside your home.

Community-based anti-litter projects have also been supported through the Litter Innovation Fund, which was launched in 2018 to pilot and evaluate innovative new ways to tackle litter. This was jointly funded by Defra and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. A total of 28 small-scale local anti-litter projects were awarded through the scheme, which was unfortunately disrupted earlier this year due to coronavirus restrictions.

Reports from the first-round projects, and the list of successful applicants in the second round, are available from the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s website: www.wrap.org.uk/content/litter-innovation-fund.

Defra also support several anti-litter campaigns, including the national “Keep It, Bin It” and “Love parks” campaigns run by Keep Britain Tidy, and our own “Respect the outdoors” campaign which launched this summer.