Car registration numbers could be printed on food packaging from McDonald's diver through restaurants in a bit to get rid of litter waste, a council waste chief said.
Chris Howell, Swansea Council's head of waste, parks and cleansing, said he felt the idea was worthy of some merit but didn't come without some drawbacks. He noted that the Welsh government explored the idea with McDonald's on the possibility of implementing extra printing to discourage people from littering, Cymru Online reports.
But he said there was an issue about which fast-food companies would "go first" with such a drastic initiative. He added: "If McDonald's do it, then people will just go to Burger King instead of McDonald's because nobody wants to have their private details printed on that packaging."
He continued: "I think it's a really good idea but at the minute it's fraught with some difficulties." Two years ago, Plaid Cymru launched a petition calling for fast-food companies to print number plates on drive through packaging after there was a surge in littering following the end of the first coronavirus lockdown.
The Welsh Government acknowledged the problem of littering and said it was working on a new prevention plan with businesses and council. Mr Howell highlighted that Swansea was forecast to recycle 70 per cent of waste form households and 1,500 commercial customers which the council collects from this financial year.
Mr Howell stressed that the efforts of householders and businesses in Swansea had been "fantastic". A report before a climate change corporate delivery committee said that recycling targets could be hit without altering the current fortnightly collection of black bin bags.
In answering questions from councillors, Mr Howell said that Swansea Council was always looking to increase the type of materials it collected form the kerbside, but that technology and markets to deal with these materials had to be implemented. He also noted that supermarkets were keen for councils to offer a kerbside service for soft plastics, but that the market for processing them was "very much in its infancy".
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