The incident unfolded when the occupants of a car at the Oamaru Lookout were seen throwing the distinctive Colonel-branded trash out of the window on to Tamar Street.
Waitaki District Council staff contacted Oamaru KFC to help identify the vehicle and the occupants using its security footage, the council said in a Facebook post.
An infringement notice was issued.
The council thanked the restaurant and the keen-eyed member of the public who described the culprits.
Plastic bags and food wrappers could catch around the small birds and over time cause significant damage.
It was an also an unwanted element entering the food chain, as rubbish could break down in the ocean and be eaten by fish.
Those fish would absorb the microfibres of the plastic, which would be passed on down the food chain to creatures like penguins.
Larger birds such as albatross sometimes feed on the garbage directly.
‘‘It’s a really big problem.’’
Putting your rubbish in a bin was the right thing to do, but near marine spaces a better option was to take it back home.
Sometimes bags and containers could be blown out by the wind and make it into the ocean..
