Rubbish

That many dumped bodyboards is disgusting. The local beach shops should be banned from selling polystyrene boards. I think we have always been a lazy, dirty, untidy nation - we don't like getting our hands dirty and expect 'other people' to do it. It's just worse now especially since lockdown.

I am reminded of a school I once worked at where litter on the school grounds and surrounding streets and fields was a big problem much of it dropped by the students. Residents, shopkeepers and parents were always complaining. So a sponsored Student Litter Pick was organised with teachers and staff assisting and any parents who wanted to help. Gloves, masks, refuse sacks and long handled pickers were provided by the school. All proceeds going to the WWF (the children's choice). More than half of the parents refused to let their children take part, claiming it was dirty, demeaning work - even though their kids had probably contributed to the problem! One mother phoned and told me "Get the Paki and Ni**er kids to do it it's what they're used to". I wasn't shocked by her comment, I'd heard similar often enough in that area, but so disappointed that the children were being stopped from doing something useful for the community. What example were those parents giving their children? The litter pick still went ahead albeit with a greatly reduced army of pickers, and the kids that took part gained a wider knowledge of how their lazy, thoughtless behaviour impacted on the whole community.

This is such a serious problem; those who are fly tipping, scattering rubbish, polluting with plastic and allowing chemical waste to discharge into the rivers and oceans are killing the planet. I dread to think what kind of life my grandchildren will have if this goes on. I have read of a potential scenario of fighting for fresh water, and new illnesses the stuff of nightmares. Governments seem to be so weak and so afraid of offending - some really serious fines, imprisonment for the worst offences of polluting, perhaps confiscating the vehicles of fly tippers - we desperately need some backbone to be displayed for what is an increasingly dangerous problem, and fast.

I always thought charities collected left behind tents at festivals and put them to good use, now I am reliably informed most go to landfill and it costs thousands to collect and dispose of them. Money that could be used to benefit the needy.

SillyNanny
I think the message is out there but the world seems to be divided into two these days - those who care and those who don't give a damn.

It has nothing to do with political affinity either.

Well lots of despair, what is to be done about it? How about cctv, see who actually does it, including all the camping/festival events. Prosecute them, fine them hugely. It makes me angry so much so the stocks might be a good idea, photos of miscreants on TV.
As a dog owner, have never understood the poo bag hurl, take it home with you errrgh!

I do wonder & worry about what sort of world my DGC will be living in when they are grown! They are being taught respect for people, animals & the world but so many do not seem to be taught anything but disrespect! Will there even be a world for them to live in when they grow up or will it have been destroyed by their parents before then? Will they be living on top of mountains of plastic with no oceans, rivers, trees or fields? Very scary thought & I am glad, maybe a selfish thought, that I will no longer be alive to see this happen. Sorry for the rant but no one else listens to my ramblings!

The damage Thatcherism has done to the country has been immense, and the efforts of so many people in trying to reduce the environmental damage we are causing continues to be undermined by the monetarist brigade daily.


That was 40 years ago! The streets were filthy and piled with rubbish when Mrs T came into power, I remember it well. It was a relief when they were cleaned up when the strikes ended.

This has got dramatically worse again in the last few years.
At least there was Tidy Britain campaign in those days, which superseded the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
I'll take a guess that most of these litter lots today werent even born then.

I expect these lazy types would be the first to walk down the local high street with a placard about climate change but don't bother about the practical application of taking their rubbish home with them.

teachers- should take the children once a week round the school environment picking up litter so it becomes second nature!
*Gwenisgreat^ I think pupils do learn about the environment and how to care for it, at least in primary school.
At my DGD's school two Y6 pupils were appointed as environmental officers including supervising the disposal of waste by others into the correct recycling bins. They gave presentations that they had prepared to the whole school.

What is it that people think others should clear up after them? Just look at music festival sites after a weekend, and now we’re getting it on our beaches and beauty spots. I know we are always being told there are not enough police to stop it, but it’s about time councils employed litter wardens to report, photograph and shame these horrible people.

Sorry, typing error but I hope you could understand it.

I think we have always been a lazy, dirty nation as far as disposing of rubbish is concerned and the current situation has only made it worse. A year or two ago I spent a few months in Japan and was famous Bullet Train passengers would walk the length of the compartment to deposit their litter in the bin. I wonder what the Japanese think of us when they come to England.

Agreed. Also although festivals are mostly not happening this summer they are another example of the “ dump it “ mentality. 2 years ago I drove past the Boardmaster festival site near Newquay just as the event had finished. The entire area was strewn with small tents which people buy with the express intention of leaving behind so they don’t have to bother packing them up and carrying them. This was at a time when the news was full of refugee camps in Calais and around the world where desperate people had no form of shelter ( and very little else)

Absolutely disgusting, I would say they act like animals but that would be insulting to animals.
Where are the authorities with backbone to take down details of beach visitors ?
When we stayed in Germany and on an island we had to purchase tickets for the beach and were clocked on and off, your ticket was stamped even if you were just visiting the conveniences. Our holiday residence was known to the authorities and we were traceable for any misdemeanour on our part.

Nagmad2016
Absolutely agree with everything you say. I really despair. There’s always an excuse made for people behaving irresponsibly and it’s always someone else’s fault. In the mad politically correct world we now live in any attempt to suggest people take responsibility is often met with the response of you’re sexist, homophobic, racist, a bully or whatever. I give up!!!

jaylucy Maybe each beach resort should have an area that items like this can be left in to either be resold (donation to a charity such as RNLI) or I'm sure that someone would come up with an idea of how they could be re-used as something else.
I think I read somewhere or heard on BBC Spotlight they are used for beehives, but I'm not sure in what respect.

helgawills - agree with both your posts.

The damage Thatcherism has done to the country has been immense, and the efforts of so many people in trying to reduce the environmental damage we are causing continues to be undermined by the monetarist brigade daily.

It is as you say, very sad.

It’s the same with disposable bbqs. They shouldn’t be sold if people cannot be responsible. I help to do a litter pick around where I live. I get disheartened every time when I see the litter people drop and often only within a few yards of a litter bin.

I despair at what the British public are becoming. We must be the most undisciplined race in the world. There is no self discipline, parental discipline, school discipline, or social conscience. If decisions are made that we don't agree with, we demand another answer, and seem to get it. I am glad that I am this age, and not younger. I wish they would bring back National Service to instill some kind of responsibility into people. Rant over.

So much stuff these days is cheap to buy, so that it means nothing to possess it because it is easy to replace.
If you think of your parents and yourself as a child, how you used to have to save up for just about everything that you really wanted. Then came HP - but that was frowned on by many as you were looked down on if you used the facility, rather than waiting and saving.
The banks produced credit cards for all - so just about anything could be purchased, you could take it homeor have it delivered just about straight away! Did that make you value it anymore? No, because there was always another one that you could buy in a few weeks time - the financial side was shoved in one corner!
Things like body boards etc will often only be used during that particular holiday, so not seen as worth taking home.
Maybe each beach resort should have an area that items like this can be left in to either be resold (donation to a charity such as RNLI) or I'm sure that someone would come up with an idea of how they could be re-used as something else.

Since a lot of today's parents seem to be unable to show a good example to their children, then - sorry teachers- should take the children once a week round the school environment picking up litter so it becomes second nature!

Yes that is a pet peeve of mine..how thick these people are!

railman Thatcherism

polnan - our justice system is soft to the extreme

I don't believe making sentences harsher will change peoples' attitudes that easily. The make it tougher for 'em approach has failed in so many areas - it's a bit like saying bring back hanging that'll stop murders, because of the deterrent effect.

That didn't work at all.

I really thought that (before the covid crisis) people were becoming more aware of the damage plastic litter does to the environment and the food chain. In my village in the Midlands, a group of young families are organising lots of recycling schemes for different types of packaging.
Somehow, though, as soon as tory people start breaking rules, a lot of others seem to think it's ok to do what they want.
Just like xenophobia increased after the brexit vote. Sad times.