State Of Our Trails Report
The Time To Act Is Now
Over the last three years 4,500+ people have helped remove over 216,000 items of single-use pollution from the places they love. The State of Our Trails Report brings together their contribution in a one-of-a-kind Report on the state of terrestrial pollution on recreational trail ecosystems in the UK.
This Report is not merely a collection of findings, but outlines our unique methods for understanding the causes, prevalence, composition and impacts of single-use pollution. No Report has been produced like this in the UK.
Published November 8th 2023
Data Highlights
216,466
individual items of Single-Use Pollution removed
Over 5000km
of Recreational Trails cleared
Lucozade
highlighted as the top brand of Single-Use drinks container found
1/5 of recorded ‘Animal Interactions’ ended in death
9.1 million (estimated)
items of Single-Use Pollution on UK trails
Top 20 Single-Use Item Brands Found on our Trails
The State of Our Trails Report covers both the Composition and Impacts of terrestrial pollution.
As part of the Composition research, we have identified the Top 20 Brands on recreational trails, based on our Citizen Science.
As part of the Impacts research, we have produced field-leading data on the levels of nature connectedness felt by trail clean participants.
Nature Connectedness
The Potential Impact of a
UK-Wide Deposit Return Scheme
The UK Government itself estimates that 14 billion plastic drinks bottles and nine billion cans are used in the UK every year. Yet less than 50% of them are recycled.
There is a simple solution. A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is a system to encourage reuse and recycling of drinks containers by paying a small deposit (10-20p) for the container you buy, remunerated on return at a collection point.
A DRS in England and the devolved nations has been repeatedly pushed back by the UK government. In the meantime we’ve been keeping an eye on the numbers of eligible drinks containers we’ve removed from our trails.
Our data so far suggests that DRS eligible drinks containers are the most prevalent and harmful items of single-use pollution on recreational trails. (Your move, UK GOV)
Woburn
Most Cleaned Trail
Mapped Paths
Most Cleaned Trail Type
4523
Volunteer Citizen Scientists
51,208
Minutes Cleaning
Use our Interactive Data Map to discover the state of single-use pollution in your wild places. You can explore three Tabs: Who, What and Why. These tabs showcases different data from across our research: information about our community of Citizen Scientists; the composition of trash and its impacts of fauna; and the levels of nature connection in trail clean participants.
In each Tab you can explore a local as well as national picture. Simply type in the first two digits of a postcode, or click an area to see the state of your trails.
No data in your area? Submit a trail clean below.
What Are The State of Your Trails?
Last updated August 2023
The Trash
Free Manifesto
We know Reports like this one can be overwhelming and without clear actions, which is why we’ve created the Trash Free Manifesto, a series of 5 Evidence-Led Actions to help protect our trails for generations to come.
1.
Single-Use Pollution:
Let’s Call It What It Is
82% of recreational trail pollution reported by our volunteers is classed as ‘single-use products’. The term ‘litter’ is riddled with negative connotations, many of which place emphasis on the consumer holding sole responsibility. We want to see societal change in the language we use. It’s pollution. Call it what it is.
82% of recreational trail pollution reported by our volunteers is classed as ‘single-use products’. The term ‘litter’ is riddled with negative connotations, many of which place emphasis on the consumer holding sole responsibility. We want to see societal change in the language we use. It’s pollution. Call it what it is.
2.
Connection First
It’s widely understood that time in nature hosts a heap of benefits for our wellbeing, especially for young people. Currently the UK has the lowest levels of nature connection in Europe. It’s time to turn the tide on our relationship to the natural world, which is why we’re advocating for education in, with and for nature to be embedded as an essential element of the mainstream curriculum.
82% of recreational trail pollution reported by our volunteers is classed as ‘single-use products’. The term ‘litter’ is riddled with negative connotations, many of which place emphasis on the consumer holding sole responsibility. We want to see societal change in the language we use. It’s pollution. Call it what it is.
3.
No Brainer Policy Change: NOW!
The work’s been done to develop policies that will see a transformation of the state of our trails, which is why we stand for the implementation of:
-
An ‘all-in Deposit Return Scheme
-
Extended Producer Responsibility for single-use packaging
-
Implementation of the Recommendations of the `
High Ambition Coalition (HAC) made up of
over 50 governments to end plastic pollution by 2040 -
Ban disposable vapes with immediate effect
82% of recreational trail pollution reported by our volunteers is classed as ‘single-use products’. The term ‘litter’ is riddled with negative connotations, many of which place emphasis on the consumer holding sole responsibility. We want to see societal change in the language we use. It’s pollution. Call it what it is.
4.
Shared Responsibility: Own Your Shit
For too long the responsibility of single-use pollution has been pushed onto the sole responsibility of the consumer, but here we outline that responsibility is a complex web, one we can all help untangle. We’re advocating for the producers of single-use, mass consumption products to formally acknowledge a shared moral responsibility for single-use pollution.
82% of recreational trail pollution reported by our volunteers is classed as ‘single-use products’. The term ‘litter’ is riddled with negative connotations, many of which place emphasis on the consumer holding sole responsibility. We want to see societal change in the language we use. It’s pollution. Call it what it is.
5.
The 2025 UN Global Plastics Treaty