NEWPORT East MS John Griffiths has held talks with fast food franchises in the city to work out ways to reduce the amount of litter at the retail park in Spytty.

The meeting, organised with Ben Antoniou who runs the Newport East Litter Pickers group, was also attended by representatives from Burger King, McDonald's, Keep Wales Tidy and Fly-Tipping Action Wales.

Discussions centred around practical measures including more signage and increasing litter picking activities in some of the nearby roads - including Nash Road and Meadows Road - which have become hotspots for food waste.

"In the last few weeks we have had a spike in litter at the retail park and some of the roads close by," said Mr Griffiths after the meeting.

"Ben and his team of volunteers have been doing a great job in tackling the litter problem - but we need to do more both individually and collectively so it doesn’t get like this in the first place.

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“A lot of the litter has been coming from the fast food chains at the retail park. However from our meeting I am pleased by some of the proactive steps they will be taking - such as better placed signage and being a bit more targeted in some of their own litter picking activities.

"Their customers need to be far more responsible when disposing of waste. We all have a duty to clear our litter properly because when we do not, it is enormously damaging to our environment.”

Mr Antoniou added: “Litter is not only damaging for the environment but also our public finances. Council's are forced to spend millions clearing up litter and fly-tipping, which robs vital funding from other services.

"I was pleased to see the positive engagement from Burger King and McDonald's and their commitment to do more, locally, to tackle the issue of fast food litter."