Member of superstar pop group JLS, JB Gill - who now owns a a farm - has spoken out on the importance of tackling litter.
Appearing on today's episode of Good Morning Britain, the singer turned farmer is supporting the Don't Trash Our Future campaign against littering - and hopes others across the country will get on board too.
JB, a who is now a passionate advocate for education and the countryside, has signed up as an ambassador for Don’t Trash Our Future and says the problem of littering is a "public health concern."
Speaking to hosts Kate Garraway and Adil Ray, JB - who has his own farm - told viewers how bad litter is for not only farmers but for everyone up and down the nation and to UK wildlife.
Click the video above to watch him talk about the campaign in full
He also highlighted how lockdown has had an affect on on our litter epidemic, adding: "I think we have seen lots of images throughout the pandemic of littering in social spaces and green spaces."
He said: "And the risk is not just the publics health but also to the wildlife in the countryside and of course to live stock as well - and that is something I know first hand"
He continued: "So really that's the main reason why I wanted to back this campaign - Don't Trash Our Future - to encourage people to support their local areas, local authorities and local councils to enforce higher fines for people who are littering and really to get behind cleaning up our country."
When the campaign was first launched, JB said: “It’s great to see that people recognise that litter is a public health concern and a major problem." He said. "The only way to stop the damage being done to our health, nature and wildlife is to sign the Don’t Trash our Future petition, object to local councils not enforcing fines and demand a higher penalty for those dropping litter.”
The Don't Trash Our Future campaign has two aims:
- To increase the maximum punishment for littering to a £1,000 fine or 100 hours of supervised community litter picking
To make it compulsory for local authorities to enforce the law on littering
Local community and information platform InYourArea.co.uk and our nationwide network of sister newspapers and websites have teamed up with Clean Up Britain to push for changes.
You can sign the Don't Trash Our Future petition here.
Changes that we believe will leave no choice but for both irresponsible litter louts and the authorities who have the power to enforce the law but so often don’t take long-lasting action.
And so we are urging you to sign this petition to the UK Government.
John Read, founder of Clean Up Britain, said: "Clean Up Britain is very excited to be running the Don't Trash Our Future campaign with InYourArea.co.uk
“We know from the countless people who contact us that there is a huge desire - from people all over the country - to try and solve the litter epidemic.
“We are all so fortunate to live in a beautiful country, but equally, it's so depressing to see so many people littering it.
“This has to stop, as it shames Britain.
“There has to be zero tolerance towards littering.
“Littering is symptomatic of a lack of pride in our local communities, and a lack of respect for other people and the environment generally.
“This campaign is about challenging and reversing these negative sentiments, and saying enough is enough.
“Let's be grateful for what we have, take care of our country and, above all, 'Don't Trash Our Future'.”
Mr Read added: “The Government needs to start getting serious about confronting people who litter.
“It's a criminal offence to litter and it needs to be treated that way.
“Fines need to be increased to a level which shows the Government - and society generally - will no longer tolerate this antisocial and selfish behaviour.
“In addition, we also need to ensure fines are a credible deterrent, by making it compulsory for councils to enforce the law, which currently it's not."
