LITTER has notably increased at Basingstoke Leisure Park since restaurants reopened to customers, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council have said.

Despite efforts of the council and nearby businesses, the car parks are strewn with litter.

Fast food packaging, as well as other food and drink waste, make up most of the mess, as well as disposable masks and gloves which have been discarded at the side of roads.

Basingstoke Gazette: Masks, cups and fast food packaging is discarded at the roadsideMasks, cups and fast food packaging is discarded at the roadside

Cllr Hayey Eachus, cabinet member for environment and enforcement, said: “Following the reopening of food outlets in line with government guidance around COVID-19 and the launch of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, there has been a marked increase in recent weeks in the amount of litter in Basingstoke Leisure Park.

“We are currently working with food outlets in the leisure park to explore options for managing this additional level of littering and reviewing the number of bins in the area.

“This does not alter the fact that it is everyone’s responsibility to dispose of their own rubbish properly and litter from takeaways should be taken home if the bins are full. We take littering very seriously and have recently launched an anti-littering campaign to remind people of the impacts and consequences of littering.”

Basingstoke Gazette: Bins around the site are not preventing litteringBins around the site are not preventing littering

Food outlets at the leisure park include McDonald’s, KFC, Costa Coffee and the Spruce Goose Beefeater restaurant.

Calls for drive-thru eateries to include car registration numbers on receipts, in an attempt to prevent and track littering, have been heard in many parts of the UK and on social media in recent years.

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility around litter very seriously, which is why for over 35 years, McDonald’s restaurant teams have carried out litter patrols in local communities, collecting all litter not just McDonald’s branded packaging. 

"At this restaurant, two members of our team focus on helping to keep the Leisure Park as clean and litter free as possible each day.  It is therefore deeply disappointing whenever we hear about a minority of our customers disposing of their rubbish so irresponsibly by littering. 

“Our recent ‘Get in the Bin’ campaign aims to encourage our customers to help us tackle this problem, by taking their litter home and recycling or disposing of it responsibly.”

A spokesperson for KFC said: "As we all know, with great chicken comes great responsibility. That’s why our teams do regular litter picks around our restaurants and we’re working with the other restaurants in the Basingstoke Leisure Park to make sure things are kept spick and span.

"But we can’t do it alone and because being a good neighbour matters, we want to encourage everyone to take their litter home or toss it in a bin. Simple as.”

You can report litter to the borough council via its website:  www.basingstoke.gov.uk/report-litter