To wonder why the UK is so filthy compared to other places?

[OptimismvsRealism]

Everywhere I've visited recently in Europe seems immaculate compared to my home city and other cities I visit for work etc. even the US seems better. What's going on??

Really think filth in public places is at the heart of a lot of our problems.

I agree, everywhere I go it's spotless. Not grubby and dirty like here.

The concept of "no society" suggests that individuals and families are mainly responsible for their own well-being and, by extension, their environment. It is widely acknowledged that some British people have a reputation for being unkempt in terms of personal hygiene, clothing, and, consequently, the cleanliness of our living spaces. For example, certain towns in West Yorkshire have appeared perpetually untidy for many years.

In the tourist centre or other boroughs. Totally different from each other

Where I live in North Leeds it's really clean. I think it depends both on the council and the residents wanting to keep it nice. My area's quite well to do so I think locals make an effort to keep everything looking clean and smart. Leeds city centre is also clean.
I'm sure there are rundown neighbourhoods nearby though.

I take it back, some of it anyway. I went past a cul-de-sac next to Euston station earlier and it was full of litter. Everywhere else was ok on my fairly short journey

Have you been to Paris or New York?

Where I live we have council people who weekly empty the rubbish bins & dog waste bins

I regularly see local people doing litter picking. I also litter pick when I walk in the local area.

We have a local community group where issues are communicated & acted upon.

However, I have seen magpies collecting rubbish out of bins

The area has also been targeted regularly by fly tippers, which has been reported each time.

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When I have been travelling in Asia, I have seen paid & unpaid road sweepers.
Example
I have been to Macdonalds, Singapore Malaysia & Thailand & there has been zero rubbish. Which is how it should be

I've just gone through Camden Market and saw almost no rubbish! One Costa cup and small split carrier bag with what looked like food in it. I even saw a woman doing some sweeping!!

Surely that's the point though. Every city has its less great areas but on the whole London is clean

It just needs one family down each road to make the road a mess.

Where I live, the tip is only a mile away. Other parts of the county - its a 40 mile round trip to one.

There's a house I see fairly often who has had a fridge freezer on their driveway for 6 years now.

When I had my washer delivered by a local electric showroom, I paid £18-20 to take the old one away and recycled - which is about £5 cheaper than council charge.

Don't understand why people who have white goods, sofas, beds delivered by companies who have a service to take the old one away take it up.

people just don't give a shit. when I go to local country parks, it's plastic bottles, crisp bags etc all over the place. People cannot be arsed to carry their shit to the next bin or take it home. I don't understand it.

I think a European style bottle deposit system would help a lot.

We have been to Canada and USA over the summer I found food and drink much more expensive than here, especially alcohol.

@Sweetpea232 we get this in Bath too- most noticeable when we get hordes of coaches daily for the Xmas market from wales and West Midlands. I just think some people don't give a shit sadly

I used to notice this after returning from the US now I do not its as dirty there

Lack of money for these services but also lack of personal responsibility take your rubbish home if you can not find a bin or actually look for a bin or arrange a collection/take to the dump some people are just slobs and have no regard for others

I think it depends on area too, nicer parts of my council are most definitely keep cleaner/roads in better condition

That's for the wildlife.

People are slobs and we don't come down hard enough on people who drop litter.

I don't know why Paris is always trotted out on these sorts of threads. I spent a month there last year & had no issue whatsoever with cleanliness.

I spent 4 days close to Covent Garden earlier in the year & honestly I was shocked at the absolute filth of the area all around it. We were in an expensive airb&b v close to the theatre & the lane / little street it was down was absolutely disgusting! It was filthy & smelly & had loads of those big bins (which is unavoidable I guess as close to restaurants ) but the ground was strewn with rubbish from them the entire time we were there.

I was very surprised by how slovenly the areas of the city we visited were.

We were in Florence recently & it was so clean by comparison!

Should try blaming the filthy shits who drop rubbish rather than the council failures to rectify it

Many European countries have a serious graffiti problem. Ours isn’t as bad as Italy. Stayed in a hotel in Rome and the church around the corner had tagging on its 16thC ornate carved door. I have never seen graffiti on churches here. Also many trains I saw are caked in tagging so unable to see through the windows

The woods around every lay-by in Bavaria seems to be covered in human excrement.

A campaign of “The outside isn’t one great big bin”.

Why can’t people leave their empty bottles in their car and put into a bin at the destination or if stop en route to somewhere- supermarket, petrol station etc.

Chucking the empty bottle out of the car window is not the answer.

Also lorry drivers can empty their bottles of piss not leave them in lay bys

Same here.

Lorry and courier drivers have their regular drop offs and most of these let them use the toilets. Some company will not let courier drivers to use their toilets since Covid. Why? Stop using Covid as excuses

I find London much cleaner than other European cities visited.
Transport cleaner, streets cleaner , parks tidy.

Paris and Rome were not good.

Grafitti is littering! And other litter and fly tipping will follow this downgrading of the area.