What is with all the litter EVERYWHERE!?

[Pebble21uk]

So I drove from the South West to the North of England last week and just couldn't get over the amount of litter absolutely everywhere! I've noticed it more in the last few years, but it now seems to have reached epic proportions.

For 7 hours up the motorway it was strewn around on the verges and banks. Also just as bad off the motorway too. We stopped for a coffee somewhere around the Midlands (off the motorway and in a National Trust car park as members - so free). Just as we were leaving down a small country lane a car pulled out right in front of us and sped off, having (I'm 99% sure) been responsible for fly tipping in a layby. If we had been a second or two sooner our dash cam might have caught them in the act.

I did notice posters about being responsible with your litter and how much wildlife is killed by it in the UK on the back of toilet doors at a service station (not something I've noticed before) which indicates it is a problem which is getting worse.

It was just so depressing and so needless... I was so saddened and angry. What has caused this huge surge?

I notice it too. I live in south London and litter is EVERYWHERE. I’m part of a local community group who organise clean-ups but the problem is too big and rubbish appears everywhere the next day.

I think it’s down to a few things: community disconnection for some people working certain jobs (many people just live here but that’s it - it’s just a place to lie their head).

There’s also a fleeing from collective responsibility - people think it’s down to the council, and we’ve even been approached on our clean-ups by locals complaining that we haven’t done a certain area (to which we say, we’re all volunteers - feel free to have a litter picker and a black bag. Funnily enough, they never take us up on that).

Finally - and I will probably be pilloried for saying this, but you can’t not notice things - there are unhelpful behaviours prevalent among certain cultures around rubbish disposal.

I agree - have noticed the rubbish problem around my area for a long time. It's awful. Some people just don't care. @CaterhamReconstituted - you're doing a great job with your volunteering. Perhaps we need more groups like yours.

And individual responsibility, of course!

Yes, thank you @CaterhamReconstituted ! It was the arbitrary nature of it as well - everywhere from beauty spots to M6 verges. It felt like nowhere was left untouched.
I'm old enough to remember the campaigns of the 70s/80s and I'm sure that it became less socially acceptable to litter. Perhaps we need something to stigmatise it again.

People are disgusting
and
Rubbish and recycling collections run by councils are crap.
That's basically it.

I think it's more noticeable at this time of year because the trees and bushes are bare so you can really see it.

I constantly despair about it and more so since we went to Iceland last year (the country not the supermarket) and one thing we noticed was that there was hardly any litter. A minority of the UK population are just disgraceful and there is no excuse whatsoever. Not even the 'whatabouts' could possibly defend littering.

It particularly infuriates me when you see fast food litter all over the countryside, absolutely miles from where it must have been bought.

Councils are on the bones of their arses due to the million years of Tory government. They’ve limited resources to put towards refuse collection.

And once it starts to pile up, people have little incentive to not add to it.

Oh, it would seem that someone thinks they can excuse littering but I disagree @SameSameButDeliverance.

Hold onto your litter until you see a bin or get home FFS.

Too many people are ignorant, anti-social scum. I often find drinks cans, crisp packets etc. at my local bus stop, where there is a bin literally two paces away. So I could add ‘lazy’ to that.

I do not hesitate to use the word ‘chav’ for people who litter, and set the same disgusting, anti-social example to their children.

No matter how little is spent by councils there is no excuse for it. Personal responsibility needs to taken.

Many places strewn with litter aren't residential town streets affected by fewer collections - we're talking fly tipping in the countryside or just throwing stuff from a moving car or leaving stuff behind after a picnic etc. It's truly disgusting.

No civic pride.

Some people live in flats/houses that have absolutely no kerb appeal. Therefore living in a shithole is perfectly acceptable to them. I don't understand it myself.

I don’t disagree that people who litter are scumbags.

I said to my husband the other day as we were travelling on a dual carriageway, there's so much litter on the verges, it looks awful.

There are more and more fast food options so creating more.

Lack of public education campaigns.

No money for local councils who are asking local residents to volunteer. People are working longer (in every sense) so lack time to volunteer.

The more litter there is, the more is dropped.

Youre not wrong OP.
The Great British Spring Clean runs until 31 March.
Our town has a couple of organised litter picks every year as part of that. Unfortunately it was this Saturday so throwing it down and windy. To my shame I didn't go along and join the 20 or so more hardy souls who did. In my defence I pick up "clean" litter if I can and always report overflowing litter bins, fly tipping or graffiti (fortunately very rare around here so it's good to nip it in the bud). The verges on the local bypass are particularly bad (and not really safe to do as volunteers) as is the local Waitrose car park, though I'm not sure they own it, need to check before I complain.
There is absolutely no excuse for littering.

I thinks it’s food related. So much more takeaway options and snacking that school kids for example eat on the way home and discard( see it daily) that has added to litter potential. Also along the verges Do people just open their windows and chuck it out?

As for public campaigns, school children are taught about it at my school. I do think bins need emptying more often. Sometimes bins near me are overflowing and the litter them gets blown around. Also bin collections for recycling always results in litter as I have watched the bin operatives spill stuff and they don’t run after it.

Of course people should be more responsible but this is largely down to the cutbacks in council spending.

The really awful part is that this is the part you can see (along with the potholes).

Years of austerity and cutting services to the bone.

@Bjorkdidit the problem is that public bins aren't emptied enough so are frequently over flowing but the "take it home and use your own bin" doesn't work because the council doesn't empty those bins enough either or they don't provide enough
The large dumpsters for my flats are emptied every Friday. By Sunday they are full to the brim (both the general rubbish and recycling bins).
Not an excuse to dump stuff obviously but sometimes it's very much "well what am I meant to do" for a lot of people.

There's a block of flats near my house and I have seen residents throw bin liners full of rubbish out of the window! It's so depressing. When I was at school the Keep Britain Tidy campaign was everywhere but there's nothing like that now, I think we need to bring it back so that throwing your rubbish in the street is no longer culturally acceptable.

Councils and Highways dept simply don't bother with roadside litter and havn't for about 30 years! There was a motorway slip road I used to use every day in the 80s and 90s - I could recognise the litter, including the odd large plastic container. It just got worse and worse as each year passed. The road was coned off about twice a year whilst they mowed the grass verge, but they just mowed over the litter. It only got cleaned up when the road layout was changed and it was pretty litter free for a couple of years, but now, five years after the new road layout, it's back to how it was, full of litter. It's not even drivers chucking stuff out - it's because it's in direct airflow of the council tip so when it's windy, the rubbish blows off the tip and lands on the verge, and just stays there.

I think what's needed more is proper enforcement of ALL kinds of anti social behaviour, from litter through to graffiti through to illegal parking. You know, the sort of thing that the police used to, actually, police!

It's hardly surprising that we've ever increasing anti social problems when police just drive by and completely ignore what's happening around them.

I don't litter.

But I would say that littering is exacerbated by awful council rubbish/recycling collections and a lack of public bins.

Horrible, isn't it. Ignorant selfish lazy people not giving a toot about our environment. Vile individuals.

I did a litter pick of part of my road and collected NINE black sacks of rubbish before I gave up for the day. 🙁