Food Litter at Core of Super Rat Problem
Published by webmaster for Chesterfield Borough Council in Communities
Night-time revellers in Chesterfield may be fuelling the growth of a "super-rat" population by feeding them on dropped burgers, chips and kebabs.
According to the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign, 15 million people in the UK are feeding the rats with their carelessly-discarded food litter.
Experts from the British Pest Control Association say that this is creating super-rats: bigger, with more energy, and a longer life span. Yet they have the ability to squeeze through a gap of just over 1cm, making it easy for them to get into our homes.
But it is not just boozy fast food fans too lazy to bin their leftovers who are to blame. Research has revealed that health-conscious eaters who wouldn’t normally dream of littering, have admitted to ditching apple cores, abandoning banana skins and dropping orange peel on our streets, adding to the country’s rat plague.
Chesterfield Borough Council plans to launch a campaign later in the year to combat leftover food dumped on our streets.
Cllr Keith Morgan, the Council's Lead Member for Environmental Services, said: “Food litter causes us a big problem. Some people think it’s harmless to throw food on the ground but it looks a mess and attracts pests.”
The UK population of fat rats is expanding and is estimated to be around 60 million. Rats are growing ever more dependent on our leftover food which gives them more energy than their original food source, wheat. They are now living longer and they reproduce every six weeks.
Cllr Morgan added: “We will be running a campaign to target litter created from takeaway food. This will include approaching fast food retailers to discuss how we can work together to encourage people not to drop this litter on our streets.
“Our aim is to hit the cause of the problem by encouraging people not to drop litter in the first place. Anybody who is caught throwing their rubbish on the floor will face a £50 fine.”
Filthy Facts, according to the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign:
25% of people admitted dropping food on our streets. A third of men admit to dropping food rubbish - mainly takeaways and fruit peelings. Women don’t admit to dropping burgers, pizzas or chips - but over 7% will throw crisps, sweets and chocolate, compared to just over 3% of men. The amount of fast food rubbish on England’s streets has increased by 450% since 2001. Nationally, seven out of ten items of litter are food-related.
ENDS
Press release issued: September 7, 2006
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