South West litters least in Britain, so why all the bottles?

You have probably watched it happen. A hot Saturday, a beach or a park filling up by the hour, and one bin doing the work of five. New national research suggests people in the South West are the least likely in Britain to walk away and leave their rubbish behind. They are also, jointly, the most likely to say plastic bottles are what they keep seeing on the grass.

📷EDITORIAL USE ONLY CO2 YOU Bubbles SOS Picture date: Monday August 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments

Top of one table, bottom of another

The figures come from a survey of 2,000 people across Britain, commissioned by the sparkling water company CO2 YOU.

In the South West, 66.5 per cent said plastic bottles were among the types of litter they most often see in parks. That is joint highest in Britain. Nationally the figure sits at 59 per cent, putting plastic bottles ahead of food packaging on 58 per cent, crisp and confectionery wrappers on 53 per cent and cans on 46 per cent.

Then the other half of it. Asked whether they had ever left rubbish behind at a park, a beach or another public outdoor space, 32.4 per cent of people in the South West said yes. That is the lowest figure of any region, against a national average of 44.3 per cent. In London it was 65.5 per cent, and 74.3 per cent of Londoners agree litter is an issue in parks. Research published last year suggested the London borough of Newham had almost 50,000 fines issued for littering over three years, more than any other city in the UK.

The region came out top for reusable bottles too, with 41.6 per cent carrying one outdoors. Wales recorded the heaviest use of single-use plastic bottles at 31.5 per cent. Yorkshire recorded the lightest, at 19.5 per cent.

📷EDITORIAL USE ONLY CO2 YOU Bubbles SOS Picture date: Monday August 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments

Where the South West goes when it gets hot

Ask people where they head during a heatwave and the answers move around by region. Nationally the beach or seaside comes first at 35.4 per cent, then public parks at 32.5 per cent, then the countryside at 24.8 per cent.

In the South West, 44.5 per cent said they would make for the beach. Highest anywhere in Britain. That single number is what makes the rest of the survey relevant to the coast and green spaces down here, more so than the litter figures on their own. Nearly half of people nationally (47.1 per cent) visit a park at least once a week, so the pressure is not only a summer thing. It just becomes visible when the sun is out.

📷EDITORIAL USE ONLY CO2 YOU Bubbles SOS Picture date: Monday August 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments

Almost nobody says they do it on purpose

Only 3 per cent of people who admitted leaving rubbish behind said they had done it for no reason at all.

The most common explanation was an overflowing bin, given by 14.1 per cent. Waste blowing away in the wind came next on 13.3 per cent, followed by a lack of recycling facilities on 10.7 per cent.

Age made a difference as well. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 74.2 per cent said they had left rubbish behind at least once. For people aged 55 and over, the figure was 21.8 per cent.

Marcus O’Donovan, founder of CO2 YOU, said: “People claim that the biggest reason they litter during the heatwave is that bins are overflowing or they can’t find any. And with bins being removed to encourage people to leave litter at home, this seems to have had the opposite effect. There are now less bins than ever, which has resulted in mountains of bottles on busy periods.”

He added: “Finger-wagging clearly isn’t working, so instead of expecting overstretched councils to keep clearing up after us, we need to make doing the right thing easier.”

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What people are actually carrying

The survey also looked at what goes into the bag before people head out. A quarter (25 per cent) still take drinks outdoors in single-use plastic bottles, and 24 per cent take cans. Just over a third, 37.3 per cent, use a reusable bottle.

Tastes have shifted over five years. Soft drinks showed the biggest rise, with 57.4 per cent saying they are more likely to buy them for outdoor socialising than they were, followed by sparkling water on 34.6 per cent, frozen cocktails and slushies on 28.2 per cent and ready-to-drink cocktails on 27.5 per cent. Most of those arrive in plastic bottles or cans, which is roughly the same list people say they then see on the ground.

📷EDITORIAL USE ONLY CO2 YOU Bubbles SOS Picture date: Monday August 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments

The bit that is happening in London

CO2 YOU is responding with a pilot called Bubble SOS, a free sparkling water refill service running across parks in East London on 15 and 16 August. Electric delivery bikes, blowing bubbles as they go, top up bottles people already have or hand over a new reusable one. There is no South West leg of the trial. Anyone in the pilot area can message CO2 YOU on WhatsApp with a live location to request a refill. The company, founded by Marcus in 2021, runs a doorstep CO2 cylinder refill service with more than 18,000 active customers.

Marcus said: “Bubble SOS is our playful solution to a serious issue, by bringing the refills to people in some of the worst affected areas, making disposable bottles easier to leave at home. We’re even giving out refillable bottles so that hopefully the habit sticks.”

There is a harder edge to it than tidiness. London’s fire service asked people last week not to leave litter in parks, after control officers took more than 1,000 emergency calls in a single day, including over 200 calls to grass fires, and sent crews to 493 incidents.

“On hot, dry days, litter isn’t just ugly, it can become dangerous,” Marcus said. “Local fire services have asked Brits to not bring litter into parks, or to make sure it’s taken back with us.”

The South West figure for people who admit ever leaving rubbish behind is 32.4 per cent. The figure for people who keep seeing plastic bottles in parks is more than double that.

📷EDITORIAL USE ONLY CO2 YOU Bubbles SOS Picture date: Monday August 10, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Kieran Cleeves/PA Media Assignments