Britain is just one big landfill shithole

[Pinkradiolady]

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?

Our County Council stopped litter picking the verges in 2008 due to pressures arising from the funding of Adult Social Care. Since then our rural village has been litterpicking every A, B and all the minor roads that pass through our Parish every year in February. We collect around 120 sacks plus 1/2 tonne of crash and highway maintenance debris (abandoned road signs, broken traffic cones etc). Having been very anti volunteering, the Council now provide volunteer groups with free equipment as they are unlikely ever to be in position to afford to litter collect litter again as part of their core duties.

We find packs of crisps from the 1980s and 1990s, even though we have wombled in the area in the past year. I once found a can of lager dated 1978 as had a competition with a closing date 31/8/78!

There's a lot of rubbish from household bins in my street too. You can tell when it's things like the box from a 6 pack of ice creams, or soggy cornflakes cartons.

14 years of the Tories.

Paid rubbish collectors don't go in ditches, in woods where fly tips happen.

Litter is my pet hate! I was taught by my mum if you can't find a bin take it home with you. I work for a local authority and know how hard people work so keep the area nice and clean for its people. Unfortunately everyone doesn't think the same and when I confronted two lads who dropped litter in front of me to please put the rubbish in the bin I was met with F Off!! I said no you F off some people are trying hard to keep the area clean! I was mad! There's no excuse! Some area have more of a problem than others.

You're quite correct, for the first 10 years, our village volunteers were picking up what we refer to as legacy litter deep in the hedgerows and ditches as well as clearing out a couple of marl pits filled with fly tipping g going back to the 60's. Back when the Council were collecting litter, they only picked the verges within a few feet of the road surface.

No. They make contact difficult. You have to open an account and then contact is by online form. They’d probably just ignore me anyway.

It’s not the council’s responsibility though is it? Everyone has a personal responsibility to NOT leave litter behind or drop things on the floor expecting someone else to clean up after them. It’s really not hard to find a bin or take your rubbish home with you. It’s another symptom of a decline in society and is deeply depressing.

What has happened to us that so few people care about things like that anymore? 😢

Yes, there aren't enough bins in public places. A couple of months back I walked the full length of a floor in Meadowhall before I found a bin. It was near the exit. I never leave litter anywhere and it was food waste so i walked and walked till i found one and by that time I couldn't be arsed walking all the back to a couple of shops that I wanted to visit so I just left and went to my car. Are they thought of as a security risk or something? Because surely if people have free hands they are more likely to go into a shop to buy something if something catches their eye in the window.

I’d like to go litter picking in a local nature reserve but the fact that I’ve seen people consuming drugs in there makes me nervous.

It is because they’re a security risk. Same reason railway stations don’t have bins unless they’re a clear bin bag.

There is a relatively new estate not far from me, the gardens back onto a normal local A-road. I was shocked the other day to drive past and see that someone had just dumped a load of old outdoor toys over their OWN back fence. It definitely didn't look like they had come from someone dumping from a car on the road as there are trees and shrubbery in front of the garden fences and the toys were right against the fence like someone had literally just dropped them over the fence and they'd stayed where they'd landed.

Some people are just absolutely dragged up.

Exactly this

Bullseye!!!!!

I went to Japan last year - Tokyo and Kyoto. I was surprised to find there are hardly any bins in public places. People don’t use them - they just take their litter home. Not a bit of it anywhere. It is possible to live like this. It’s a problem with our society.

What do you mean?

Wouldn't that be wonderful if we had that notion instilled in us from an early age . Well I'm nearly 60 and it was instilled in me and I've passed that on to my children, not sure what happened to the other whatever % of the population though....

Actually it’s not. - countries have developed over time with shared customs and cultures that help create focus and community, - they are essentially like a family.

You're not wrong, it's very depressing. And when you think how long plastic lasts... It's not simple to clean up, either. There are areas which are dangerous, like busy verges, or inaccessible - behind fences, or high up in trees.

We have a village litter picking group and after the recent winds there has been litter up the main road and someone is arranging a litter pick - community coming together for these things is the answer imo

Countries don't actually exist. They're nothing like a family, they're a modern capitalist invention.

How were they invented if they don't exist?

Late to the thread but I am totally with you op. I regularly go out litter picking but I just can’t keep up with it. What is wrong with people? Why can’t they use bins?

I'm not being serious.