AIBU ? Really sad about trip to the beach today.

[Tigertigertigertiger]

I’m fortunate to live a 15 minute drive from a big sandy beach.
Today was hot so after work I went straight to the beach to swim .( it was freezing )

I’m really sad about the experience.

The beach was full of out of control barking dogs, children literally screaming at the top of their voices for no reason ( yes, it’s a theme of mine ) , but the saddest thing of all was the place was strewn with litter.

Plastic bottles, empty crisp bags, discarded takeaways, fag ends, empty drink cans ....
There were loads of bins around . Not that you need a bin to not litter.

I’m genuinely upset by this. Is this considered ok now ? What can be done about it if anything ? I’m properly upset.

Makes me wonder the people that say 'clear it up' are the ones that actually litter and see it as someone else's problem.

I'd like to bring in a system for all public beaches / national parks in the UK.

Parking is £20 a day. However, if you bring back a bag of rubbish (large bins in car parks) then your parking is free.

People would be fighting over litter. If there's one thing the British seem to hate more than finding a bin, it's paying to leave their car on land that isn't theirs.

It's just a pipe dream, but still...

Visitors should control their dogs and remove their own rubbish. But YABU about the children. You cannot dictate 'only silent children are allowed on the beach where I live'

I’m genuinely upset by this. Is this considered ok now ? What can be done about it if anything ? I’m properly upset.

I’m not sure why you’re so genuinely, properly upset now? It sounds a bit hand wringy. I don’t live near a beach (London) but even I know littering is a huge problem.

Of course people should take their litter home with them but there’s little us the rest of us can do except pick up after them or organise clean up days.

I absolutely despite littering. Most animals are cleaner than the younger generations these days. I'm not sure when people started looking to others to pick up after them. Or perhaps it's that people are constantly eating takeaway food now, out of disposable packets? Whereas when I was a kid you took a picnic to the beach and it was in tupperware boxes which you took home and used again..

The problem with individuals starting one-man/woman litter-picking campaigns is that the scum who leave the litter will continue to believe that "someone else will pick it up for me".

It makes me rage though. I sometimes like to imagine that I have a secret power to teleport all their discarded rubbish into their bed, nicely hidden under their quilt.

@makinganavalon

I think denying children shrieking on a beach after the year they've had is frankly absurd

I think your post is absurd 🤷🏻‍♀️

Litter I totally agree. Its really scummy to just leave your shit everywhere and expect someone else to clean up after you. Its disgusting behaviour. Just take a carrier bag and take it home - not hard

Dogs I agree as well. I don't like dogs much and don't get these need to take them absolutely everywhere. Dog people don't seem to understand not everyone wants to have animals around them all the time I'd 100% use a dog free beach

As for the kids - as much as the screeching could be annoying, kids need to let off steam and after the year we've all had they deserve to have as much fun as possible. I'd just put my headphones in

Fucking hell, sunny people have a really low bar.

Of course people should not be leaving litter at the beach! Scummy lazy fuckers

Kids shrieking? Fair enough.

Dogs out of control? Are they allowed on the beach? Talk to the owner. If they're not, also talk to the owner.

It's a shame people aren't more considerate and thoughtful.

@ThroughThickAndThin01

Organise a local litter picking group?

It shouldn’t be necessary. Why on earth do some people expect other people to clean up after them? They took their food etc to the beach why can’t they take the f***g rubbish home?

Why the hell should it be op's job to clean up someone else's litter????

I call it nappy season. Full nappies left on the beach or next to where their car was parked...

I have no idea why you choose to come somewhere nice BECAUSE it is nice and then litter it, making it not nice.

Littering is an increasing problem. People literally just dropping it at their feet in the cinema. Wrappers, popcorn, all over the floor. Last time I went on a holiday flight I was really shocked at the way some people left the space in front of their seat. I mean, the bloody staff COME ROUND WITH A BIN BAG and put it in front of your lazy ass- you don't even need to get off your bum and put it in a bin. Is it that people just want to be rid of their rubbish NOW and don't want to wait till the bin bag is brought round? Possibly the last one. More and more people in this country just throw their bloody empty maccies bags out of the car window at traffic lights.

They're just lazy, badly-brought up fuckers. And so are the people saying stuff like "there aren't enough bins/bin men". Take it home with you, or to wherever you are going that DOES have a bin.

There are loads of beaches where dogs are banned through the summer months. But dogs do seem to be the must have fashion accessory of 20-21 so they are fuckibg everywhere at the moment. I hate screaming kids as much as the next person but at the beach it's hard to begrudge them letting off a bit of steam. There's no excuse for littering but loads of people do it and its just shit.

Can't believe people just leave dirty nappies around. When mine were little I took a supply of nappy bags, and triple wrapped dirty nappies in them then put it in the changing bag till I got to somewhere with a bin. People are too bloody precious now. They get the ick at anything "urgh, no, I don't want to have to carry that home/to the nearest bin, it's smelly/a nuisance". It's as if they don't grow up, and instead expect mummy to be there to take their dirty things from them and deal with them.

I absolutely despite littering. Most animals are cleaner than the younger generations these days. I'm not sure when people started looking to others to pick up after them. Or perhaps it's that people are constantly eating takeaway food now, out of disposable packets? Whereas when I was a kid you took a picnic to the beach and it was in tupperware boxes which you took home and used again..

Most kids i know would not dream of dropping litter. My kids have their own litter pickers and use them regularly. I'm annoyed at people blaming young people- blame the families where its standard practice to drop your litter and the children have learned it from their scummy parents.

Also tupperware is still a thing - lots of people want to minimise their waste and the impact they have on the environment and don't routinely eat out of disposable containers. Its a small minority of lazy scumbags who chuck their food wrappers on the floor, creating a big mess. The majority think about the impact their waste has and use a bin or take things home.

For this year I'm just going to suck it up - yes the waste and litter isn't great, at all.

But then we've got a bunch of captive Islanders who'd normally spend their time elsewhere for their holidays, where they are prepared for the clean up operations involved - now the people are forced to UK places that don't normally cater bin-wise for the numbers of people that are coming.

I'll just stay away from the beach and clean up as and when.

Kids screaming - YABU it’s the one place they can run around playing snd screaming.

Litter on the beach - YANBU I think that’s disgusting and dangerous for people and sea life.

@PumpkinKlNG

Well they do it round here, they organise litter picking groups and they go all over the area cleaning, rather than just sitting at home complaining about it...

But they shouldn’t have to.

The disgusting littering bastards should take it home with them. It’s their responsibility to everyone else’s. What the fuck is wrong with this shit-hole country?

@toocold54

Kids screaming - YABU it’s the one place they can run around playing snd screaming.

Litter on the beach - YANBU I think that’s disgusting and dangerous for people and sea life.

But they can run around and have fun without screaming! Why is it just accepted that mindless screaming is a human right? Or even a necessity.

Poeple need to call out litter droppers. I do, it's quite fun when they tell me to ' fuck off you old woman' and I reply 'you do realise that I was that teenager* and you will be this old woman one day, don't you? Of course by then the residual litter will be so bad you really won't want to come to a nice place like this any more, which is sad for you. '

• not that I ever have dropped litter, we were brought up in the Keep Britain Tidy era

It's holiday season. People come to the seaside with their families and their dogs and not everyone is respectful but they bring money in and keep seaside resorts viable.
You will have the rest of the year to enjoy the peace and solitude so I think you are being a bit unreasonable OP
The council make extortionate parking charges to be able to accomodate the cleaning up bill I am sure.

The shouting kids, whilst annoying, is pretty standard beach behaviour, I would have thought.

YANBU about the litter though. I was in Buttermere the other day and there were piles of dog poo bags just heaped up by a wall, and when I walked back someone had added a can of coke for good measure. So grim.

The litter is so frustrating, I really don’t get the mentality of people who leave it.

Most of my local beaches are signed up to this scheme and it’s very rare to see litter on them now. beachclean.net/ The kids seem to love having a go litter picking, and the beach cafes, restaurants etc really push it which seems to stop people leaving their rubbish. Shouldn’t be necessary of course...

@PumpkinKlNG

Well they do it round here, they organise litter picking groups and they go all over the area cleaning, rather than just sitting at home complaining about it...

I agree with this. Litter drives are defo the way to go (sadly).

The number of dogs in the UK has almost doubled since the 1960s, and the way a significant number of owners treat them like very indulged children who go everywhere the owners do and are largely untrained with no recall yet let off lead has changed too.

UK beaches did not used to be as dominated by out of control, barking dogs who jump on other beach users and fight with one another while their owners are half a mile away down the beach or studiously ignoring them a few meters away.

Last time I went to a UK beach the dominant sound was barking, I couldn't hear the sea. It was disappointing and certainly didn't used to be like that 30 years ago when I lived in the area.