Countryside folks are dramatic about litter

[Thehonestybox]

I've always lived in big northern industrial cities, but recently my freelance work has meant I've been working a lot in very rural countryside (peak district, moors & Cumbria). At first I was sympathetic everytime a local said something about the litter being a blight, or outsiders climbing hills in flip flops, or people not closing sheep gates, etc etc.

But recently I've just thought - why am I sympathising?!

Us city livers see litter literally EVERYWHERE. I wouldn't dream of leaving my door unlocked at night and antisocial behavior is through the roof. And yet the other day I was working in a rural village and the person I was talking to spotted (with terminator level of vision) a Walkers crisp packet about half a mile away on a hill and I think I literally saw her pulse race through her neck as she said "and THIS is what I'm talking about!! ".

AIBU to wonder why countryside people feel like they should be immune to other people's selfishness?

If I was in Leeds centre and had an aneurysm over an empty packet of Nik Naks I think my colleagues would suggest I take a holiday.

(I suppose I'm referring to fairly wealthy people here, either farmers with land ownership or ex-city early retirees. TBF anyone 'working class' I've met in the countryside has been fairly welcoming to outsiders)

Also, OP, I think it works both ways. I get sick of hearing about the poor public transport in cities. If I wanted to get a bus (and didn’t own a car), I would have to cycle 3 miles from my farm to the local village to get one of the TWO busses that run through there per day. If I miss either of those buses, I can’t get to town. Swings and roundabouts really

This reminds of the ‘unruly’ family New Zealand had the pleasure of hosting a couple years back. I think they were eventually found to be from Leeds.

They could probably have happily gone about their holiday, ripping off businesses and NZ would have been basically blissfully unaware of their existence. That is until they left a great mess of litter at one of our beaches. This is a big fat no, no. When their littering sin became known, thanks to social media, so to did their other escapades. It gave us something to talk about in the staff room and everyday we wondered what the ‘unruly’ family was going to do next - summer can be slow in NZ.

Hope the link works.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/110003223/six-weeks-of-strife-how-a-family-of-unruly-tourists-angered-an-entire-nation

Well the countryside is generally much more beautiful than most cities so a blight on the landscape just looks much worse 🤷🏻‍♀️

Wow OP. Aren't you embarrassed? Surely you must be deliberately winding us up.

Why are only certain classes of people out of order in their concern for the environment? What have any of the objections you raise to do with welcoming outsiders? Presumably that means being tolerant of rubbish by your admittedly weird logic.

Probably these people know that what you tolerate becomes acceptable and don't want the countryside to go to pot.

Just because you tolerate/have given up on living in a shithole doesn't mean they should.

So you think everyone in the countryside lives in a big detached house? 🙄
If that's what you want then do something about it.

Are you genuinely and seriously bitching that people in the countryside care more about the problems that impact them more than they care about the problems that impact you...whilst having created a thread to say you don't give a fuck about their problems and that everyone should focus on your problems... And you don't see the insanity in that logic?!

How exactly does someone from the countryside being annoyed at city-folk dropping litter or leaving gates open somehow, in your mind, mean they're responsible for people having their houses broken into in the city?!

What you're missing is that the people in the countryside are complaining about people coming from the cities and causing harm. You're complaining about people in the cities causing harm to other people in the cities. Either way, it's not the people from the countryside who're remotely in the wrong.

Also, for the record, I grew up in the countryside and there were a fuck tonne of break ins and robberies - in a very nice area. People target those that they think are wealthy. I've never had a break-in whilst living in a city. So, you're completely out of touch anyway and just incorrectly assuming that your problems aren't something that happen in the countryside. You're wrong on so many levels.

I hate litter droppers everywhere, whether in a city or countryside and don't get why this is a class thing except you obviously have a chip on your shoulder about the very few wealthy landowners who obviously live in a part of the country you visit occasionally. I live in the countryside and no wealthy landowners down here except for Prince Charles.

Umm because we already have way too many built-up, shithole dumps in the UK?

Why would any decent human being want to start to ruin the countryside side too? Do you want everywhere to look like a shit hole? It's a constant battle keeping on top of the litter that dirty scrotes leave everywhere (farmer).

Living anywhere that tourists flock to, it's easy to feel irritable when "outsiders" come to your home (well, the area in which you live) because it's nice and appealing, only to proceed to ruin it with litter, traffic, etc. It's disrespectful.

Littering is vile wherever it is. If we bothered to fine litterers properly we could probably fund the NHS 10 times over

OP I don't think you'd be happy anywhere with your bizarre attitude
It can be as expensive to live rural as it does cities, in fact it costs me way more to live in central Manchester than I'd did my old village and I get less space, both have anti social behaviour but of different kinds which are equally as annoying and frustrating as residents.
Opportunity to earn is usually higher in cities.
You are comparing apples to oranges.
You getting worked up over something ridiculous
If you have an issues with the break ins and prostitution MOVE but you won't you would rather just moan 🙄

They should charge everyone who drops litter a 1k fine . It would soon stop. I live in a litter hell hole I watch people in cars in front of me lob their macdonalds bags out their car windows. Brings me rage.

That drives me insane!
They are in a big container. What possible reason could they have to throw rubbish out of the window instead of keeping it in the car until they get to a bin or get home where they can put it in theirs? It makes no sense!
Not that littering ever makes sense but this extra doesn't make sense!

Sorry what are you referring to people in cities as?

Yep I felt so privileged last night, lying in bed in my small HA bungalow, being kept awake all night by the rave party going on in a field not far from the village. No doubt this will be the first of many over the summer because some entitled twats from towns and cities have nothing else better to do than rock up here.

YABU for posting about “countryside folks” and trying to create a them vs us.

People who don’t like litter live everywhere.
People who don’t really care about litter live everywhere.

Sounds like your recent trips have made you question where you live and because that is difficult for you, you’re reacting in a very defensive way.

Come and join us in the countryside 😉

Litter isn't acceptable in cities either. Just because it's more common in the cities doesn't make it less of a problem.

I've lived in cities and the countryside and hate litter in both places. Why do you not get more upset about littering in the city you live in op? I regularly used to chase after people with their litter saying 'I think you dropped this' when I lived in a city. It is entitled, lazy, disrepsectful and antisocial to drop or leave litter for someone else to pick up and it is endemic in the UK.

It's all been said really.

Litter is a danger to livestock (that's someone's livelihood) and wildlife. Country-dwellers look out for litter and remove it as an act of kindness to their neighbours. Why would you have a problem with that?

Many cities are complete pits - why would you tolerate that and regard it as normal? Let alone thinking that people in rural areas should stoop to that level of acceptance of the unacceptable?

Litter in the countryside is dangerous to livestock and also there’s less chance someone with a brush will come along and pick it up, certainly not as frequently as they should do in city’s.

I live in Manchester and I agree city’s are filthy and disgusting, Manchester especially so. Sadly we are at the mercy of a shoddily run council who for some reason fails to spot / overlooks the grotty areas and the perimeter of the centre. Graffiti, litter and street grime and dirt are huge issues that desperately need addressing across the country.

Both city litter and countryside litter are unfortunately the result of a segment of a lazy public who have no shame in leaving mess behind them, people who do not care. You can educate them all you like but at the end of the day if they can’t be bothered to pick up after themselves punishing them if caught is the only option.

I'm really sad to read such intolerance on both sides here. I have always lived in a city but have lots of family in the countryside. Cities are not "pits" or "shitholes". You wouldn't say that about a country (unless you're Donald Trump...). However there's a huge amount more footfall which sadly means more litter.
Equally protecting the countryside from litter which can harm livestock and wildlife is vitally important.

So you need to persuade these landowners to host these community groups? A smaller farm owner wouldn't be able to set aside land for these events, as they need it all to be productive with crops or livestock - smaller scale farming is NOT a profitable business and many are having to pack it in for this reason. Same with very large commercial farms, they are there to make a profit.

So that leaves us with middle sized farm, or private landowners who don't rely on farming income to live - just the prople you are complaining about. Naturally, if they are inclined to consider letting you use or hire what is to all intents and purposes their own back garden (though admitted very large) for these events, surely you can understand why they have concerns about people from the cities & towns coming in.

Have you ever cleared up after an outdoors event OP? I can almost promise you that however hard you try some litter will be missed. Plastic bags & similar rubbish blown about by the wind. Broken glass hiding in shrubs or long grass. Cigarette butts everywhere. Then the poor landowner who let you use this land turns livestock out on it, and ends up having to call the vet to their stock.