BPF supports innovative new campaign 'For Fish's Sake' to help tackle litter in the Thames

Positive & playful behaviour change

The BPF is contributing to an exciting new campaign aimed at preventing litter from entering the Thames. For Fish’s Sake #FFSLDN, run by Hubbub is a positive, playful campaign, which aims to encourage London’s residents, commuters and tourists to take action to help reduce the amount of litter that ends up in the River Thames.  People walking between Waterloo Bridge and Tower Bridge over the coming months will encounter a number of engaging initiatives from voting bins to ‘grate art’ to help change the public’s perception and behaviours around litter and highlight the need to protect and cherish the Thames and surrounding waterways. It is currently understood that bottles that do enter the Thames tend to wash up and down the river on the tide, remaining in the Thames for some time. 

 #FFSLDN launches on 17 May 2017, it builds a sense of community by acknowledging the role that the Thames plays in our life, work and play though creative interventions. It draws attention to the consequences of littering by highlighting the link between land litter and ocean litter - many people do not realise that rubbish they drop on the land, can then easily travel into the Thames or other waterways, and even reach the ocean.

'Tidy litters' devastating for marine life

One issue For Fish’s Sakes will focus on is ‘tidy littering’ – placing an item somewhere neatly instead of using a bin, where it can easily be blown away. Common tidy-littering habits that Londoners say they’ve seen include leaving litter next to a bin (54%), placing drinks containers on a wall or other surface (56%) and putting rubbish down storm drains (30%). ⁽¹⁾

Gavin Ellis Co-founder of Hubbub said:

“Our research shows that just over half of Londoners who admit to dropping litter do so accidently and 43% of people said they do it when they can’t see a bin nearby. We’ve witnessed many commuters balancing their empty drinks containers on the side of London Bridge in the hope someone will clear up after them. These cups are blowing into the river and this type of behaviour is happening across the city. Many people don’t think of themselves as ‘someone who drops litter’ because they’re not throwing it on the floor, they’re carefully placing it somewhere. When close to the Thames there is a good chance this will end up in the river.”

How can we prevent litter?

#FFSLDN is calling on Londoners to help stem the flow of litter into the Thames. Here’s what people can do:  

1.  Use the bin - not the gutter, not the river, not the pavement  
2.  If you see some litter and you’re near a bin – pick it up 
3.  If the bin is full, find another one or take your litter home

This campaign is part of the BPFs wider work to engage in behaviour change campaigns to prevent litter from entering the environment, such as #NeatStreets. 

Learn more about what the industry is doing to reduce litter. 

This is the first of a series of UK campaigns to help reduce the amount of litter going into the UK’s waterways.  The initiative is led by Hubbub, and in addition to the BPF, it is supported by the Port of London Authority and backed by a unique coalition of organisations including INCPEN, Natural Hydration Council, St Katharine Docks and Tobacco Manufacturers Association. 

(1) Survey was conducted by Censuswide in April 2017 and interviewed 1,000 Londoners.