Is UK now one big rubbish tip

[Sally20099]

im hoping I’ve only just noticed, and things aren’t actually getting worse, but where ever I drive at the moment, all the motorways, duel carriage ways and slip roads, are just full of rubbish all along crash barriers. Plastic bottles, drinks cartons, random plastic wrapping - all just building up and blowing around. I’ve never actually seen anyone litter but it must happen on mass. Who are these idiots littering our countryside, and why are they so relaxed about it. AIBU thinking there must be a growing population who don’t care about anything: how awful it looks; how many animals it kills (according to rspca +3m animals each year), the environmental impact etc.

Well not around my area in Kent.

Not even close

My guess is a lot of it is people travelling. I live in the northwest Highlands, and in the winter season there is no litter really. In the summer there is tons of it. It's all instant food type stuff. I can only surmise it's the tourists doing it, otherwise it would happen year round. I guess they come because it's pretty here, but they don't care if they trash the place as they pass through. They even chuck it in our gardens 😔

Totally agree. Don’t ever remember seeing so much rubbish on the side of the roads. I often wonder if people are dropping more or picking up less? I really hate it

No, I think it’s just Birmingham.

Yes it's definitely got worse. You're blind if you can't see it. Perhaps not noticeable to people in their late 20s and younger but there can't be anyone older than 35 than thinks there's not a massive problem. Compared with pre 00s.

There are too many people that live here now that don't give a shit what the country they live in looks like. That's basically it.

I dont think there's anyway back. 😔

I'm not even in a rural area

The streets where I live are a disgrace, with many cul de sacs and dead ends just fly tipped

No sooner has it been reported and cleared, it's back

It's disgusting

It’s getting worse but honestly has been bad compared to other places I have lived for decades.

But flytipping seems to be worse.

Same here in Dublin. It was shocking to notice it because it’s always been so clean for as long as I can remember.

I've covered a lot of England's roads in the last year and it's everywhere. Utterly depressing, people just don't seem to give a shit about anything anymore

Yes it is bad. There’s another thread I think about the council charging for businesses disposing of waste and they don’t want to pay.

Plus we’re a throwaway society with lots of cheap plastic tat, and even furniture only lasting a few years before people feel they must change it because - “fashion”

It’s truly awful, I agree.

My area isn’t too bad - there’s good bin provision and local groups go round litter picking. I also think people around here seem generally quite respectful of where the live.

In other places, especially grass verges near main roads or away from where people live, it’s truly awful - garbage just everywhere.

I have noticed it over the last couple of years. It’s utterly repulsive and throughly depressing. I have no idea who does it as our family never do and I have never seen anything tossed outside when travelling but the verges are littered to the extent in some areas there is more litter than grass. What has changed?

I’ve noticed it more recently. Not mounds of rubbish, but sandwich packaging, drinks cans and the like that have clearly been chucked from a car. I just cannot get my head around it, some people are just crappy.

It's horrific and totally depressing. Anyone not seeing it is being wilfully obtuse or live in an extremely unusual remote part of the UK.

Nope. Lovely market town in Kent.

where do you live that’s so depressing and horrific

Not in North Staffs/Cheshire Border.

Terrible in some of the midlands though.

I live in a relatively nice area but you’d be surprised what you can pick up on a walk. There are some council flats nearby and they a) don’t have enough bins so litter flies everywhere in the wind b) have too many people in each flat generating too much waste and c) have international residents who don’t seem to be aware of or understand cultural norms about fly tipping. I set up a litter picking group and we manage to keep on top of it all in the surrounding areas but it’s a real community effort!

Everywhere is so bad at the moment. I regularly litter pick and urge everyone to to their bit

I am finding t so depressing that people now don’t seem to care outside the bubble of their own car/home. I live in a beautiful rural tourist area and we are always litter picking. Some of the rubbish is really revolting.

Would it be better for councils to make the dump free but put additional charge on business rates/council tax to cover this and save on constantly having to send out teams to clear explosive laughing gas canisters and rubbish?

People always say schools should teach children about this but they already do.

Also why can’t we enforce circular systems for packaging and phase out all the ridiculous single use plastic that just gets thrown away? Make the companies producing all this waste more responsible for where it ends up.

Big fines and publicity around people who do this but not sure how it could be enforced?

I expect that there is a dedicated team of volunteer litter-pickers in your town and you just haven't noticed them. Places that are tidy have been tidied, it's not a state that happens by luck.

A lot of Roma have moved to my local area. You can tell by the amount of rubbish and fly tipping that has increased. Grotty as hell.

Yep. Glasgow is one giant shit tip of litter.

My town isn't too bad, the council employ two full time litter pickers and there are regular voluntary groups targeting specific areas.

The main roads and the dual carriageways are terrible. Nearly all of it seems to be fast food debris.

It's horrible. Rubbish everywhere.

I will vote for anyone who manages to clear the fucking tip we've turned into, even for Starmer.

16 yrs and never seen a litter picker in my lovely town