Pest Solutions have officially launched an anti-littering campaign called ‘Enough is Enough’, in a bid to tackle the concerning rise of rubbish and rodents on the streets of the UK.
Over the past few years, we have seen the amount of rubbish lining the streets of our towns and cities rise to a frankly disgraceful level, a trend that has directly coincided with a sharp increase in the amount of rodent activity in urban areas.
Despite this increase, and the serious public health threat it poses, there has been a disappointing lack of action taken at either local or national Government level to counter the issue and it has been years since we’ve seen a nationwide anti-littering campaign of any substance.
At Pest Solutions, we’ve decided that ‘Enough is Enough’ and have decided to launch our very own anti-littering campaign in a bid to stem the flow of rubbish onto our streets. Once a month each regional Pest Solutions team will hit their local streets for a day of litter picking in a particularly problematic area of their patch.
Our very first event saw 60 large bags of litter collected from the roads surrounding our Kinning Park headquarters in Glasgow City Centre, but with much of the rubbish seemingly returning overnight, we simply can’t do this on our own.
For this to work, we need a serious change in the public mindset regarding littering, and extensive resources and education programmes are needed for real change to be achieved.
We hope that the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign can be the instigator for this change, raising awareness and encouraging policy makers and public bodies to start taking this problem seriously.
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Newcastle are just some of the locations where ‘Enough is Enough’ litter picks are set to be held and we would encourage any businesses, schools, community groups and individuals to come and join us.
How bad have things become?
Pretty bad. Recent research from Direct Line Home Insurance revealed that there were 271,343 residential call outs for rodent infestations in 2023, with £44 million spent by councils on tackling the issue.
Many of these call outs were handled by the experts from Pest Solutions and having been operating in Scotland and Northern England for over 20 years we have seen a sharp increase in rodent jobs in the last few years alone.
A few weeks ago, Pest Solutions featured on a BBC news segment covering the Direct Line survey, with BBC Scotland’s Reporting Scotland following Gemma Sutherland (Service Manager/Graduate Advanced Technician) and Iain MacKinnon (Advanced Service Technician) as they highlighted rat activity across Glasgow.
As Gemma and Iain did a fantastic job of showing, rodents like rats will purposely seek out areas where rubbish is left lying around and make their nests nearby, attracted by the combination of a reliable food source and the close proximity of warm human inhabited buildings.
Once there, they breed rapidly and issues escalate at a frightening rate. Our team do a wonderful job of tackling individual rodent infestations in homes and businesses, but for this public health emergency is to be brought back under control once and for all, there needs to be a serious shift in the public attitude towards littering.
Speaking following the launch of ‘Enough is Enough’ British Pest Control Association CEO Ian Andrew left no doubt over the severity of the situation:
“There is an inextricable link between litter and pests, that is clear. More rubbish, particularly food stuffs, supports pest activity, particularly rodent infestations. It’s not just an environmental matter, but a public health issue. Rats in particular carry many diseases which can be easily spread to humans. BPCA is fully supportive of Pest Solutions campaign and urges everyone to play their part in tackling the UK’s litter crisis.”
Enough really is enough.
Chris Cagienard, Managing Director at Pest Solutions and President of British Pest Control Association (BPCA) on the Launch of ‘Enough is Enough’.
“The litter on our streets is not only a blight on our society but it attracts Rats to our homes, businesses and playgrounds. As pest controllers, litter is one of our main challenges. Litter isn’t just unsightly; it is dangerous because it attracts rodents and other pests and makes getting rid of them even more difficult.
“I believe it is our public shame as a nation that littering is so prominent in our streets across the country and something must be done to combat this. By launching our litter awareness campaign, we want to encourage other businesses, local authorities and the next UK Government, to move this further up their agenda. If we don’t do anything to tackle this, people’s health and wellbeing will be put at risk, placing further pressure on our public services and local authorities.
“I look forward to talking to the incoming UK Government on this matter in the coming months as we look to make real societal change across the country by cleaning up our streets.”
Speaking of the incoming UK Government, Pest Solutions are calling on whichever party is successful in the upcoming General Election to put the UK’s litter problem right at the top of the priority list and take seriously the impact it is having on pest control, public health, and human life.
Why Us?
Why are a pest control company launching an anti-littering campaign? It’s a fair question.
The truth is that there is a direct correlation between the amount of rubbish on our streets and the amount of pest activity in homes and businesses across the nation.
Our professional team of pest controllers do a fantastic job of keeping insects, rodents, and birds at bay, but the job is becoming harder and harder with so many potential food sources left lying around.
We have been encouraging councils, Governments, and other industry leaders to take action against littering for several years now, but with no sign of a campaign on the horizon and the problem becoming critical, we have decided to take action into our own hands.
We hope that the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign will gain traction with other businesses and organisations from across the nation and become the driving force against littering that has been sorely missing in recent times.
After all, this is a very serious public health concern that affects each and every one of us, and only by coming together as one can we truly begin to turn the tide.
Join the ‘Enough is Enough’ Campaign
Keep an eye on our website and social medias for details on the dates of our upcoming ‘Enough is Enough’ litter picking events.
We have local offices across Scotland and Northern England and will be holding litter picks in as many towns and cities as possible in a bid to inspire communities to join in the fight.
Get in touch on 0141 280 7323 to learn more about the Enough is Enough Campaign.
