Chewing gum spattered pavements and gutters dotted with take-away packets are all too common sights in the world today.
In this moving photo series from Keep Britain Tidy, British nature photographer and wildlife expert Chris Packham picked up a camera to document the damaging impact of litter, both on the landscape of the UK and the wildlife that inhabits its borders.
“People who litter are unwittingly helping to kill and injure the wildlife we all love," Packham said at the launch of the new project. "As a naturalist, I'm only too aware of mankind's impact on the natural world and litter is one very visible example of this. Not only is it unsightly but it seriously affects wild animals both on land and in our oceans."
At least 2.25 million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK everyday. Worldwide, over 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds die each year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic.
But it’s not all bad news. Governments around the world are working to curb litter. Rwanda has banned plastic bottles, while the EU Parliament recently passed a law to halve plastic bag use across Europe by 2019.
The photo project forms part of a partnership between the campaign Keep Britain Tidy and supermarket Lidl, who have donated £500,000 from their single-use bags to the organisation to help inspire young people to create a greener Britain.
The photos will be auctioned on Keep Britain Tidy's e-bay site.
Stark and wistful, these stunning pictures serve as a powerful reminder of what our environment is losing unless humanity takes action to protect the planet.