Keep Britain Tidy - pick up your litter

I think you are right that many just don't care. We often hear with certain issues that " there are more important things to worry about". Nothing will change as long as that attitude persists. It does reflect badly on us.

A friend and her husband visited Jersey last weekend and said it was so gorgeous and clean. Hardly any litter and the public toilets were pristine. Then they flew back to Liverpool … her heart sank. “When did we become THIS?” she wailed. The comparison was stark apparently.

It’s all so very sad because it really doesn’t have to be like this but very few even care.

Some individuals just don't appear. to have pride in their. surroundings and the. wider environment do they?

As children my AC were brought up to not drop litter and they too have instilled this in their own children. Both DGC that drive have a bag or bin in their cars for litter and neither would dream of throwing it out of the window whilst driving.

The only thing I ever throw away is an apple core - back to nature - something will feed on the left overs and the seeds might germinate but I wouldn't do that in the town centre, carpark or the like, it has to be in a suitable location.

We're lucky enough to live down a country lane in the Lake District, there's someone (obviously local) who carefully picks up their dog's poo, bags it and then hangs it in the hedge

I wonder if measures to keep Britain clean are set out in any political party's manifesto?

Who are these people who drop litter and dump waste? Nobody I know of would admit to being a litter lout or a fly tipper but they clearly exist, the evidence is there for all to see.

A few years ago, I was walking along the pavement of Shaftesbury Avenue, just up from Piccadilly Circus, when - from the front passenger's window of a large car which had just overtaken me in the slow moving traffic - was tossed a bulging McDonalds take-away bag. Red traffic lights then caused the traffic to stop a few yards further on. Astounded at such a blatant, provocative, act of littering, I picked up the bag containing the remnants of several fast food meals, caught up with the car and knocked on the same window, noting as I did that it was darkened - as were all of the side windows. After a short pause, the window lowered - to reveal four young black men, all dressed in various permutations of 'gangsta' kit, staring at me. Gulp! I stared back for a second, then pushed the bag through the window, saying "You dropped this a few yards back". Silence. They stared at me; I stared back. Then the cars ahead started moving. "Sorry", said the recipient of the bag; up hummed the window, and off went the car.
I like to think I'd do the same again tomorrow if need be.

Volunteers are regularly picking up rubbish round our lanes which thoughtless people just lob out of the car window. It can be harmful to wildlife too. Don’t they have dustbins at home?
Dh reckons fast food outlets should pay for regular pick uppers.

It's shameful. What I find infuriating is all this talk about the environment, net zero etc and we can't even pick up our own rubbish. Last time I asked a litter dropper ( an adult male) to pick up the crisp bag he had thrown on the pavement I was firmly put in my place. I was the culprit.

Primrose53

As Tiley says, some people couldn’t care less.

In a nutshell that's exactly it. They do-not-care one iota.

... it would be interesting to hear back from you on the replies you get from your neighbours?

If you don't get a response - it'll be down to you then to keep the lane looking nice

As Tiley says, some people couldn’t care less.

I have, just this morning, hand delivered letters to 4 neighbours who all use the lane we live on. We are by far the longest people down here.

It’s a very old, pretty lane when it was looked after. It has become an eyesore in recent years. Whereas people used to leave their wheely bins in their courtyard gardens they now dump them out in the lane. They get emptied but the bin men just leave them all over the lane and if we don’t push them over to one side then we can’t drive past them. People left out an old microwave and a fryer of some sort. Of course the bin men don’t take those so they sat out there for weeks. In the end we took them to the dump. This week one of them has thrown out an old electric heater!

We fill in any potholes, we plant bulbs for the spring and we usually get the bank strimmed. I guess they all think a little fairy does it.

I wrote a very polite letter saying older photos show a pretty lane used by lots of people and asking whether we might get it back to how it was. I await their replies. 😉

There seems to be litter everywhere these days. I bought a litter picker so I can keep outside on the pavement tidy, my husband keeps the kerb tidy too by removing weeds. Whilst the majority in our road do the same unfortunately there are a few that couldn't care less and will walk over litter rather than pick it up.

I blame the parents!

When we lived in Brixton in the 80's our rubbish was collected once a week. Our neighbours on one side (3 young males) used to put their rubbish out after the collection which meant the local cats and dogs ripped the sacks apart. They also used to throw beer bottles out of the windows at night. On one occasion they tried to burn the debris in the back garden, including bottles and cans and a foam backed carpet which brought on an asthma attack.

These young men were medical students at first, later replaced as they moved up the ladder by trainee estate agents, accountants and solicitors. I suspect that they had not had tasks to do when they lived at home with their parents and that they felt entitled to do as they wished.

Apart from not dealing with rubbish they would also play music very loudly. One morning at around 6.00am I could no longer stand it and went round to complain. They had absolutely no idea.

Ali08

Callistemon21

I agree Dinahmo

It is more and more depressing to see even beauty spots littered with rubbish.
Will those who litter listen, though?

The other problem is that recycling large items costs quite a bit now and some disreputable firms which will collect and take away these items then dump them in woods, in farmers' fields etc.

It's not as bad now, at least as far as our council goes. It used to be very expensive to get them to collect stuff for the dump, but they have really lowered their prices these days.

It's not as bad now, at least as far as our council goes. It used to be very expensive to get them to collect stuff for the dump, but they have really lowered their prices these days.

Ours have made it more difficult and more expensive.

You could at one time take things to the local dump between certain hours in the day.

Now, you have to call first and arrange a time.

And that has resulted in more fly-tipping. I don't approve of it, obviously - but I think it was an inevitable outcome.

The more complex, difficult and expensive councils make it to get rid of household appliances and other items, the less people will bother.

I remember a few years ago, my DD came and told me my DS had been told off by the lady in our corner shop. On asking why, she said for dropping litter on the ground.
When I went into the shop later in the day, not to complain, the lady pulled me aside and asked if I'd been told? Oh yes, by both DC, & I had also told DS off as not only did the shop have a bin outside but that numpty was standing right next to it when he dropped the wrapper from the sweets he had just bought in the shop!
I told her she was right to have a go at him and told her if she saw it happen again, with any of my DC, she was free to have a go & make them pick it up!
There was absolutely no excuse for it. Especially because whenever we were all out together we would put our rubbish in bins, in a bag we had with us or in our pockets until we got to a bin to dispose of it, it didn't take much doing!
Nowadays, I'm proud that my DC AND DGC use bins or pockets for rubbish (usually my pockets if I'm with them).

Callistemon21

I agree Dinahmo

It is more and more depressing to see even beauty spots littered with rubbish.
Will those who litter listen, though?

The other problem is that recycling large items costs quite a bit now and some disreputable firms which will collect and take away these items then dump them in woods, in farmers' fields etc.

It's not as bad now, at least as far as our council goes. It used to be very expensive to get them to collect stuff for the dump, but they have really lowered their prices these days.

I think it is a real problem in the UK. Really noticeable when you visit the country and quite disgusting. The only other place like it that I know about is the Solomon Islands but they have the excuse of not having reliable rubbish collections.

Going back a few years someone dumped a couple of black bags of litter in the alley behind my NDNs house. It was bin day and they could easily have put them in their own bin for collection. Instead my cctv showed the lazy husband of my NDN pushing them onto my lawn with a garden rake. I have no doubt it was at the suggestion of his nagging bullying wife. I put a sheet of paper with the thumb nails on it through their door. A message on the back warned them that the pictures would be sent to the police if not cleared up in 24 hours.

My cameras showed him clearing it up at 6.15 am next morning. Would love to have seen his stupid face when he saw that paper. What a dumb thing to do when you know your neighbour has cctv!

There was a mass removal of rubbish bins at the time of the IRA bombings. I suspect that many were not replaced.

I wonder what their houses look like!
Just tonight a group of men were talking and smoking on the newly paved area outside the town hall. Cigarette buts were thrown down and stamped out. That's it.

Plastic drink bottles are everywhere and takeaway boxes. Why?

My DGS started a "let's tidy our school" litter pick with some of his pals when in P2. He even won a prize from the school.
But kids higher up the school mocked him so he lost heart.

Our town council pay for Saturday and Sunday morning clean ups in the town centre, they are finished by the time the shops open, and it’s spotless. It makes such a difference to the way tourists view the town so they keep coming, which is the payback.

You must be joking, people have enough to do terrorising neighbourhoods, stabbing people, stealing etc. etc. without bothering about picking up litter.

Urmstongran

Imagine if one day this week the whole country went out and filled just one carrier bag with litter! I suppose landfill couldn’t cope.

I have a stone planter outside my house filled with heather - we are on a main thoroughfare.

After the weekend there is nearly always some litter dumped in it among the heather, food packaging, plastic bottles, drinks cans - even cigarette ends (ugh).

I used to have hanging-baskets, but they also got stuff dumped in them which damaged the flowers so I don't bother anymore - and others in the road say the same.

It's a shame because we are a tourist town (Cotswolds) and the street used to be a riot of colour in the summer - I've even had tourists take snaps of my blooms outside my house on one occasion. But fewer people are bothering now - also, some of the hanging baskets were ripped off and dumped on the road - for a 'laugh' I suppose.

This once vibrant street is now looking rather dull. And there's lots of litter dumped in the town centre where volunteers regularly have to have a clean up.

We often identify the culprits among ourselves, but are not allowed to name and shame on the local FB noticeboard, although some are just people passing-through.

... and if you complain about it on the same notice-board someone will point out that there aren't enough rubbish bins. As far as I can recall, most towns and villages don't have a huge amount of rubbish bins - but people used to pocket their litter and take it home... imagine that!

... it seems like society is slowly decaying.

Imagine if one day this week the whole country went out and filled just one carrier bag with litter! I suppose landfill couldn’t cope.