Why are Brits so prone to littering ?

[Salida]

I'm not asking for your litter horror stories - we all have them. I'm asking for your thoughts on something that perplexes me. Just why is it that Britons are so prone to littering (and the oldies on here will confirm, that we have become much more so) - why we seem to litter so much more than countries?

OMG!! The UK is spotless compared to where I live! I get what you're saying though, the UK has bins, we're educated and we know right from wrong (as a whole) but the majority of locals and certain expats here are vile, disgusting people who need to pay for their 'environmental crimes' My 12 year old son even wrote a letter to the local newspapers this week as an English assignment and knows more than these morons!!

If I had my way, anyone caught littering would be fined on the spot £1000.

We had this in my city; there was a private litter "police force" brought in to issue on-the-spot fines. You wouldn't believe the public outcry about it and the accusations of the council trying to profit (why shouldn't they?). When the next Council got in the first thing they did was to scrap the litter police. I can only conclude that some people like living in filth.

@Phineyj

The social norm has changed. When I was a kid in the 1970s teachers and old ladies would shout at you if you dropped litter and Keep Britain Tidy was printed on lots of packaging. We could probably change the social norm back again with effort.

I agree with this. There were lots of campaigns targeted at children - remember the Wombles anyone? - at my school one of the punishments was picking up litter on the grounds! I don't think it is lack of bins either, just look at the side of roads! My youngest dd taught me a lot when she was learning how to care for the environment at school, and several times 'shamed' me, eg making sure I cut up plastic ring pulls to "save the hedgehogs mum". Target the young and they may pass it on up the chain to their parents.

By the way, where have all the scary public information films gone? - they were everywhere in the seventies, stranger danger, crossing the road, littering?

Have you ever been abroad OP? I hate littering & have cleaned up locally many times but you are utterly ridiculous to suggest that it is just a British problem.

I wish people would stop with the class stuff. It's sneering to the middle and derogatory to working class. I also don't think it's true.

Its education. A lack of.
Its a lack of respect for others and self entitlement.
Its a consumer society, which generates a lot of non biodegradable, hard to recycle waste.

I don't think there is enough money to provide and service enough bins. We need to create less waste in the first place and deal with the stuff we make properly.

@IrmaFayLear it’s actually meant to be mad manners to eat on a train (or it might be to eat smelly food) 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes it was lovely when all the takeaways were shut.

Just take it home or find a bin.

Do you think the reduction of weekly rubbish collection plays a part?

Part of the issue but only a small part was that for a period there were very few litter bins owing to fear of the IRA and other terrorist groups planting bombs in them. Same reason as why left luggage places were rare.

My brother is a teacher. One of his pupils made a mess on the floor of his classroom, with bits of paper and biscuit crumbs. He told the girl to clear up but she said she wasn't doing it, it wasn't her job, that's what the cleaners are for.

@llmklg
Lj1a it's not a competition at all. I am simply saying that I find UK to not be littered (or at least the area that I live).
But I suppose everything in life is a matter of comparison. A middle class person is rich in comparison to a homeless person but piss poor in comparison to a billionaire. Similarly if u ve lived in a very littered country for a long time, the UK will seem clean to you.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe sorry avbive comment was meant for you

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe sorry avbive comment was meant for you

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe

You're right, Walkingtohealth. There are also countries that are very much cleaner. You don't hear or see reports of littering in Singapore, nor in Austria/Switzerland either. I doubt they're comparing themselves either, they just have set their standards and people comply.

We should do the same, zero tolerance to littering with big penalties for those who do.

You're never more than about 6 feet from a cleaner in Singapore or China. they are everywhere. That's why it's clean.

people dont care..and they are bitter fed up depressed, stressed, etc no excuse but i think that is why, also rebelious teens..

People litter in other countries too. We dont hear about it because it's hardly international news, but it isnt a Britiah problem specifically. Similarly, not all Brits litter.

The abuse I have at lunchtime in school regarding pupils' own litter/plates/wrappings is unbelievable and they all say "it isnt mine" or "it gives the dinner ladies something to do"! Wonder where they get it from?!

@dontdressme

In Norway they pay people for recycling! Food shops have these reverse vending machines where you put in your bottles and cans, and the machine gives you a voucher to spend in the shop. That's why you often get homeless people walking around parks picking up rubbish, then they can recycle them and buy something to eat, and it keeps parks clean.

You pay a deposit on them when you buy them, and the machines are where you can return the bottles and get your deposit back. You don’t have to spend the voucher in the shop, you can also redeem it for cash (eg if you’ve had a party and are returning crates of empties)

Yes that is a good idea. But Norway was very clean even before recycling was invented. And lots of bits of rubbish can't be put in those machines anyway (sweet wrappers, fast food cartons, dog poo bags....)

The students in my school don't behave like that at all and would get short shrift if they did, probably from peers and definitely from staff. It is possible to change the culture. But it helps a lot if people feel they belong and the environment is theirs. I don't think a Keep Britain Tidy campaign would work nowadays - not enough national identity. I expect it would work in Wales or Scotland. The main problem round our way is foxes getting in the food waste, recycling blowing out of bins, not enough bins, emptied infrequently (and our council was on that BBC list today of ones about to go bust) and yes the NOx containers. So while public attitudes could use adjustment, there's definitely an infrastructure and austerity element too.

I pick up the NOx things with a litter grabber the local green group loaned me. It's quite fun actually.

I see a lot of McDonald’s hurled about the place and i always assume the twats that do it are young males, I could be wrong though.

As to why I think it’s just a selfish mentality. Using the McDonald’s as an example, they’re driving along, don’t want the litter in the car and hoof it out of the window. Job done, someone else’s problem, fuck it. They’ll be exactly the same people who don’t give a shit about all the other million petty micro aggressions that make life crap for everyone.

I try my best but keep being undermined by SLT so I keep screeching "rubbish in the bins" every day and will no doubt do so until I retire!

Lack of bins/bins being too full. I used to live in a small market town in Hertfordshire; plenty of pubs, couple of clubs. Quite a few kebab/chicken places. Bins near the takeaways would be full on Saturday morning but not emptied until Monday. TBF, you could see that people had tried to stack their rubbish next to the bin but they need emptying far more frequently.

I’ve also lived in a popular seaside town that had very few bins, when they had events the council did used to provide big skips. There are long stretches of road where I live now without any, which I’ve noticed more when walking the dog.

Posted too soon! People are also selfish but I’ve never actually seen anyone IRL drop litter.