Britain is just one big landfill shithole

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Been out visiting relatives....I am actually shocked just how bad the litter is. Its bloody everywhere, frankly it's depressing. Where is our Pride? The motorways and A roads are so bad. Along with the absolutely shocking driving standards.

WTAF?

Just been to New Zealand. One of the big things I noticed was it was so clean. No litter, no graffiti. Apparently there is a number you ring if there is graffiti to get it removed.
When you talked to New Zealanders they had such pride in their towns. I think this is what is missing in the UK.
We need to cut back on eating in the street then dropping wrappers, cups etc
We need to each own our local space and have pride in keeping it clean
Yes it is worse around schools here and noticeably different during term time- so schools need to get into the adopt a space mindset too- they are part of the community.

We’re in the UK this weekend and we noticed this, it obviously hasn’t become worse since we left, we’re not used to seeing it.

Someone was eating a pret sandwich on the tube and threw the wrapper on the floor as they got off, a family about 50m in front of us Clissold park yesterday were letting their children thrown rubbish on the floor (a crisp packet and a pepperami packet).

Sometimes litter will blow out of a bin, but apart from that there shouldn’t be any at all, and that includes things like chewing gum on pavements too, if you don’t want to split it into a bit of paper to put it in a bin, then only have it at home/at work where you can bin it direct.

Many schools have eco clubs, regular assemblies about litter, taught lessons in areas like Geography, PSHE and Science. Staff have endless conversations with kids about littering; every lesson there are reminders to leave your area tidy, every break and lunch we have to nag kids to throw their rubbish into provided bins.

I think that's enough? Most of the education starts at home around basic manners and behaviours for your environment. Like getting kids to tidy up the table after food, tidying their rooms regularly, getting children to hold on to wrappers until they find a bin when out and about.

Then rally the troops and do
something about the litter! Where I live there is a small group of us that go out for 1 1/2 - 2 hours on a Sunday morning. We pick an area that needs doing and litter pick. There are also people who don’t come on the Sunday who pick around their area at a day/time that suits them.
It is quite horrifying how much we collect though. 2500 bags in 2024 for 1 area of a large city but at least we’re doing something about it.

@Rubbishchouce and @Youngheartsalittletogetherness ime it's not young children. They are really good at not littering and actively try to improve their school area. Especially wrt dog poop, they do a campaign

It's more adults or rubbish from bins flying around

With the dog poo it all looks bad

It alright where I’m at, but when driving out to London surely can see plastic bags and all sorts of crap increasing in density with each passing mile. Sad.

Some other countries are so much cleaner. Poland has much less litter and if you did drop it people would tell you off.

I was thinking of it starting young and keep it going and hopefully when adulthood is reached they don't become the fly tipping types or chuck everything on the ground and expect someone else to deal with it.

Some of the Wombles go round schools etc teaching kids the impacts of litter creates. If you are in Leicestershire https://www.facebook.com/groups/1558393851031246

The only rubbish we should see on sides of roads:
. Bits of plastic torn off from cross winds on flat bed trucks delivering building materials
. Things that fall off vehicles - hub caps, mud flaps

Food and drink packaging should not be there.

Another thing that pisses the wombles off. When there is a car crash, the police and recovery teams just pick up the main car. NOT the bumpers, wing mirrors, headlights that fell out on impact or when the main car part is picked up - as these are loose and fall off. In Oct, two wombles found a bumper with number plate attacked right at the bottom of the ditch. I went on the GOV website to check last time the car was taxed. It was Sept 1997! So it was in the ditch for 27 years. J reg Nova.

I read DD a library book, When Little Mouse Got Stuck by Ruth Owen and Emma Bowring, about a field mouse who, attracted by the smell, falls into a plastic bottle and can’t get out. In the meantime, her babies are getting hungry in their nest.

This story has a happy ending as walkers spot her and rescue her. However, there is an info. page at the back of the book. A study of litter by Keep Britain Tidy found that more than 8% of discarded bottles contained the remains of a trapped small animal. That’s really sad.

I'm sure I remember a study which highlighted a correlation between the pride & care (or lack of) that people take in their environmental and their sense of political enfranchisement.

Basically, when people feel they are left behind by the government, their needs aren't prioritised by policy (or as a group they are scapegoated), the rubbish & graffiti builds up.

So the increase in rubbish and poor civic behaviour is a damning indictment of the political and social landscape.

This doesn't surprise me. It's a kind of kick back

Definitely this. Whenever I go to McDonalds I'll often see a family leave a table full of mess. They just walk away from it. Even the floor underneath their table means that a member of staff has to sweep up first before they can start on the table litter. Surely people clean up after themselves at home. Why not when they go out to eat?

My DH found some beautiful wine glasses dumped in an alley yesterday. They've come home.

Who would do that?

They were practically brand new

Dragged up. No other reason than they are without knowledge of how to behave in society.

I don't believe that's the reason for one minute.

There has always been poverty and inequality. Years ago when people had nothing they still made sure their net curtains in the windows were white and their front step was scrubbed clean, so as not to let the side down.

Other countries can manage it. Go to any rural part of France, where there is often high unemployment or low pay and people still look after their surroundings. They make sure there are flowers in the troughs in their street or in their window boxes, no rubbish anywhere. Bunting between the houses for local festivals. The village squares are immaculate. There is a sense of civic pride.

No-one wants to take any responsibiity in this country. It's always someone else's problem to fix or be responsible for.

Were they in their packaging or had drops of wine in them? If the latter, that was from a bar/pub. As often seen beer glasses with beer in them about 100m from pubs. I tip contents and place contents on an outside table so pub can wash them etc.

No it was bagged up so definitely not accidentally discarded itms.

Was on the M1 again today. Opposite direction, just as shifty. The city we went to...litter was appalling. I agree in part with the disenfranchisement theory. However whilst we encourage more and more fast food outlets and plastic packaging it will get worse.

We are not allowed to pick on or around motorways, HnS. Live 5-6 miles from M1 J21 and where M69 starts. I actually cry on seeing the crud around motorways.

It is incredibly depressing isn't it.

Yes the fast food doesn't help and vapes

We rarely get healthy food and drink packaging. Even soft drinks, we see the 'fat' version more than the diet/zero. I believe there is a connection with not bothered with the environment and not bothered about their health.