Litterbugs!

DH thought he was going to get thumped by two young men once - it was ages ago and he was walking along the road near us. Two youths threw down their fast food wrappings and DH said 'Why are you doing that? There's a bin just over there'. They got quite aggressive, telling him to 'you pick it up, old man, if you don't like it'.

the lake
What pity George and Muriel weren't on the beach - the sea would wash it all away you know, just as that woman in Weston-super-Mare said!

First Saturday
"Oh look George at this beautiful scenery, the trees, the lake, the grass."
"You're right Muriel, it's stunning, lets have our picnic here."
an hour later.................
"What are we going to do with the empty plastic bottles, the food wrappers and the glass you broke Georgie?"
"Just leave them here Mu, don't want to mess up the car".
Second Saturday
"Oh dear George, look at all the mess people have made, I don't want to stop here, it's disgusting."
"Don't cry Mu we'll find somewhere else along the way. Don't put that Snickers wrapper in the footwell love, chuck it out the window".

Before the lockdown whenever my DH took the dog for a walk he would come home laden with other folks rubbish. I always worried he would catch something from handling this rubbish, he wouldn't wear gloves or take a bag. Since lockdown he has started again but just generally one or two bottles. Even so when it's time for bottle collection, the neighbours must think we have a right boozy time!! He reckons he only picks up those he has seen lying for a few days.

We live on the edge of the town park where there are some lovely walking trails, sadly there is a lot of litter despite many litter bins. A man and a woman regularly walk around with grabbers and plastic bags collecting the litter and a few days ago I made a point of thanking them for what they do. I used to pick up bottles and cans and put them in the nearest bin but since the virus I have had to stop myself from doing it.

Spot on Caro57 ! From chewing gum up to disposable masks,gloves,etc. it's the norm, it seems, to litter

Doubt it's to do with Covid - more likely they are ignorant idiots who fail to realise that if they took it home or disposed of it properly the country - aka our taxes - wouldn't have to fork out for people to go and clear it up

Calendargirl

On our local Facebook page, a Staff Nurse is asking people to put their disposable mask in a plastic nappy bag before throwing it in a bin, to minimise any chance of contamination.

This seems a bit over the top to me, and yet more plastic, but I suppose she knows what she is talking about.

What, there’s a risk of contamination from a discarded mask already in a plastic bin bag, so now we’ve to use yet another layer of plastic to make it safe? All the more reason not to buy the ruddy things!

I can’t imagine how anyone who’s ever cooed over a David Attenborough documentary can stomach this obscene waste when we can buy a reusable mask for a fiver.

MissA ?

I live close to a school, and I despair at these environmentally aware teens, as they throw their rubbish everywhere on the way home.

Actually despite someone attributing this to the baby boomers I think our generation is very strict about taking our litter home.

On our local Facebook page, a Staff Nurse is asking people to put their disposable mask in a plastic nappy bag before throwing it in a bin, to minimise any chance of contamination.

This seems a bit over the top to me, and yet more plastic, but I suppose she knows what she is talking about.

it was only about 3 months ago that people were marching to save the environment. Now they do not give a damn! my handbag and pockets are always a mess as i put my litter in to them but nowadays people just throw it on the floor. Covid is not the cause as they were litter bugs before this happened. it may be just a label to try and excuse bad behavoiur.

Yup the litter has increased here too.
Now, added to the plastic bags of dog filth left/hung everywhere, there is now the plague of blue disposable gloves and masks absolutely everywhere too.
Some people are really shit.

Regarding the masks, I hate the disposable ones with a passion. They’re no more justifiable for the average person than anything else made from single use plastic, and are going to take hundreds of years to decompose. I spent a couple of hours making us half a dozen 3 layer ones using a free Burda pattern online, though many others are available. If people can’t, or won’t, make their own, there are countless reusable types available to buy, some makers donating some of the proceeds to charity.

walking around our small village yesterday I noticed a mask thrown on the pavement. Why can't people take them home and dispose of them safely? My sister tells me she was walking across the fields a few days ago (different village) and came across two masks and a pair of plastic gloves. These things are designed to be disposable but not to be chucked down when there use is up!

Nope...can’t be that, it’s a quiet village and nothing really gets thrown down usually ....never seen any council litter pickers and the W.I once a year litter pick is hardly worth doing as a rule.
I really think the only reason is people not wanting any packaging in their cars at the moment.
Talking to a neighbour yesterday, we have decided to clear up once a week.

It's more likely the litter pickers aren't working as much due to Covid

I agree that litterbugs are not new, but over the last ten years I have noticed things getting better.My own village had hardly any at all until the last couple of months, now I see new litter every day, crisp packets, sandwich packets and drinks bottles mainly, thrown from cars on their way through.We have no fast food outlets near us and it’s not ( the litter) all around the village but on a B road which leads to an A road where cars whizz by.
I don’t think it can be only here where it’s got worse.

When I was about 13-years-old, I was walking along the street eating a kit kat. I absentmindedly tossed the wrapper to the ground. An old lady stormed up to me, “litter lout” and stormed off! I was stunned. I hadn’t given it a thought because I had never been taught differently and everyone I knew treated their litter in the same way. As soon as she said it though, I realised that just throwing litter to the floor was wrong and, now 61, I can honestly say, I have never done it since and have picked-up other people’s litter. Even as a young girl, I wished she had not rushed off, so that I could have told her that I would not do it again.

It's not a new phenomenon - I can remember an advert on the telly with Ronnie Corbett up to his neck in rubbish pleading for people to deal with rubbish responsibly. It's just the result of decades of people being told it was O.K. to "Do your own thing" - which has led to generations who have no consideration for anyone's "needs" other than their own. We have anti-litter laws on the statute books - and have to apply them. Rigorously!

We need to bring back the 'Keep Britain Tidy' message that was prevalent when I was young. I'm horrified that since the Covid outbreak people have become so careless of our beautiful country. We were never the clean country of the world, but it wasn't as awful as it is now. A rave was held near Bath at the weekend and the noise could be heard in Bristol The livestock nearby were terrified, and some may miscarry because of this. Not to mention the sleepless night residents nearby must have had. The fields are now unusable for grazing animals because of the amount of broken glass still left there, despite the clean-up efforts to take away the other rubbish left behind. They even left some cars behind! The police got there within 10 minutes, but by then there were far too many drunks and drug addicts for them to be able to disperse them. How many people are infected from that event and will pass it on to their families - perhaps killing them. The I'm alright Jack mentality has really settled into some people, I'll do what I want, and you can clear up after me. The NHS will cure me if I get ill and it doesn't matter if they staff get ill, they get paid to take risks. The government needs to take really firm action against people that are being so antisocial. At least £1000 if found littering, and cars crushed if they are left where they shouldn't be. That might make people think twice - or will it?

Seeing lots of discarded face masks and gloves outside the supermarkets. Please put your "mucky" face mask and gloves in a bag and take it home and bin it, even use the super-market large bins there are plenty of them.
Confuses me why people will wear a face mask and gloves but then think it is appropriate to litter them onto the pavements etc.

@SVJ07 Phoenix

That is a lovely quote. Perhaps it should be on big posters on every beauty spot and beach, the litterlouts would probably throw their litter at it, but I think it is lovely.

I’m fed up with excuses for litter. To my mind it’s just laziness, and ‘somebody else will clear it up’.