AIBU to ask you to sign this petition if you are sick of the litter in the UK... especially on the roads?

[orangina01]

Over the past 10 years the litter in the UK has become out of control - I hate driving anywhere now. Even country roads are full of litter. It just makes me so sad. Surely it isn't just me?

Please sign this petition (I didn't start it but it's already got 3k signatures and needs 10k) to call on government to sort out the clean up of our towns and roadways...

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/757624?fbclid=Iwb21leAQY0sBjbGNrBBjSsmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHsPqS3SGxZ0HgtOoONRZ_aPyMJtQxg952zonNviaszeUUSEZM3MYSeGkZFmU_aem_UerwQ1rtIrl8R4V60yWf2Q

What suggestions are you for how this should happen?

If they would allow volunteer pickers to do more (ie; me) then they could start freeing up resources and money to shut the main roads and get the hi-vis teams to clear them.

How about people stop dropping litter?

I don't know if it's the same everywhere, especially on country roads, but the litter on the roads here is mainly from bin and recycling days. It even blows into my back garden and it's not the normal "street litter" like crisp packets, bottles or vapes. Obviously different on a motorway or country road with no bin collections but I think different causes will mean different solutions

Great idea. I’m sure no one has ever thought of that before.

Unfortunately some people are just lazy shits.

Thank you..I have signed

What do you mean? I litter pick all the time..not on main roads though!

I litter pick in my local area - it is just moronic - whole McDonald’s bags with all the detritus dropped just feet away from bins, plastic bottles and household stuff thrown in the river, sweet wrappers and vape things just dropped when people have done with them, dog owners wrapping dog shit and leaving it there in hedgerows… 😔

We should be educating and stigmatising this as scummy anti-social behaviour from an early age in schools. There should be heavy penalties for people caught littering and fly tipping too. Name and shame.

I don’t understand why they don’t set up a camera at a motorway junction, and fine the cars dropping litter, £200 a pop. If they did this with the same zeal with which they enforce parking, speeding, bus lanes, box junctions (and contracting it out as well), it would be a step in the right direction.

(For that matter, if only proper crime was tackled with the sane zeal with which parking is tackled. Yes I know, legal practicalities, etc.)

If you clicked on the petition some ideas are already on there - public education campaigns, more responsibility by the big companies selling the items that create a lot of waste (like McDonalds), high fines. As a pp said, there are wonderful people in the community who are happy to litter pick but can't do so safely - organise times so they can do so when roads are closed (e.g. for re-tarmacking/potholes), and reward them - for example some places give people who do a lot of work for their community free vouchers for restaurants, cinema etc. Encourage kids to get involved and shame their parents for doing it!

Lots of police forces nowadays have online portals to upload evidence of dangerous driving etc - if someone catches someone chucking rubbish out of a car or putting it next to a full bin, it should be an easy upload to the evidence portal and minimal work for the police - 1 minute to review the footage, obtain address from license plate exactly as you would with speeding = automatic (large) fine. We have CCTV every bloody where now, may as well take advantage of it!

There will always be scum who do it anyway when they think they can get away with it but even a small reduction would make a difference. Years ago people scoffed at the idea of picking up your dog poo, not drinking if you are driving, or wearing a seatbelt, now those things are normalised.

Just giving this a hopeful morning boost. Please sign, the sheer amount of litter is extremely depressing

the problem with all the problems like litter, dog crap, fag butts etc is that people have gotten away with it for so long that they dont care as they know there will be no consequences.

paying people to clean up will not solve these problems.

these scumbags have kids who grow up thinking it’s fine to throw away your empty bag of crisps and empty coke can as that’s what dad always does. despite what school tells them. as again no negative consequences. there are whole generations who think it’s fine.

the other issue is overly full recycling bins on a windy bin day. we need bins emptied weekly again. not in some cases four weekly. the bins get too full and the wind catches the top rubbish.

and there are not enough on-street bins. a double bin housing to take two wheelie bins outside shops costs a grand. it’s mental. they get set on fire here so the council removes them and doesnt replace. great. how’s that helping either rubbish problems. it saves the council staff going out to empty the bins but there’s rubbish flying round niw thwy dont pick up. we dont care about a housing just give us the bloody wheelie bins chained up outside shops. that’ll do fine.

there is so much wrong that unless we pay more tax of some sort it cannot be fixed. thete has to be policing and negative consequences, but nobody wants to pay more so itll never get fixed…..

Yes this really bothers me. I have to drive a lot for work and often pass the big containers of rubbish that's been collected and then transported to depots etc. Every single one is losing all sorts of rubbish and bits as they aren't sealed properly on the top. This is contributing to so much roadside litter, which I'm sure then just makes people think it's okay to throw it from their cars. I really think sealing these containers would make such a difference

thursday our council won't supply bags to volunteers so I have to cobble together whatever bags I have and pop them in public bins. I could pick 10 times as much with council bags and if I could leave them for the council to collect. I can only pick as much as I can fit in a bin slot.

Do what we and clean it up. I live on the South Coast and we have organized volunteers who do our parks. I keep the wittens clear whilst I do my daily dog walk and regularly clean up when I see litter dropped on the school run. In my experience it's mainly children and teenagers who litter. Our man A roads have teams that go along for litter from cars. The Councils cannot afford their social care bills AND to do all this so if we want to live in a nice environment it's going to be up to you

Oh I see. I tend to do small litter picks..outside the area where I work and wherever we are out walking.

Your council should be much more accommodating.....you are helping them out!

The biggest offenders in our village are drivers. Delivery men. Tradesmen disposing of their packed lunch remnants. A mother of a small child who drops dirty nappies out of the window.

I agree about delivery men..in fact I try to order a lot less these days. As for the women..thats disgusting.. can you report her?

I think the village did work out who she was. It seemed to stop. Either the kid grew up or someone had a word!

and there are not enough on-street bins.

Summer of 2020, between lockdowns, a lot of people were using the local park to meet friends and family, have picnics. The council brought in some big rubbish skips to supplement the bins. People still walked away leaving their rubbish on the ground where they'd been sitting.

The problem is mostly caused by people who don't clear up after themselves.

I would like to add..the motorway rubbish is not helped by the amount of cones and temporary roadwork signs that are abandoned along the roadside.

Thanks for this. Will sign, as a regular litter picker.

we travel in other European countries and the UK is the worst for roadside litter by far.

I agree OP, it is depressing to see when you are out and about. I was thinking this the other day - this and the potholes, just contribute towards a general air of neglect which is so bad for our collective morale.

I remember the anti-litter government poster campaigns and ads and countryside code being taught in schools in the 70s & 80s and I think this did make a difference to public attitudes towards littering.

I've signed and so has DH. I've distributed the link to lots of family and friends,

Educational campaigns are the way to go, so children go home and tell their parents off!

I have used AI to help me plan a 6 month anti-litter campaign - template letters to local MPs, schools, parish council, adverts to get people out picking litter, awareness in local papers and on SM groups,

it has to become as stigmatised as drink driving and smoking, peer pressure is powerful.

Signed!