Horrendous roadside litter - worse than ever before?
Discussion
Council cut backs. Litter picking isn't an essential service so whether it's done by councils' own staff or contracted out, it won't be done so frequently as in the past in order to save money. At his time of the year it's much more visible as the undergrowth isn't so dense as in the summer months.
Regarding litter picking along road sides new legal requirements have recently been introduced relating to the safety of operatives working on or near the highway. These requirements previously only related to road works but now also apply to litter picking activities on roads with a speed limit above 40mph as a result of a number of fatalities.
The impact of these changes is being felt nationally and all local authorities are having to change the way in which they carry out this work. Of particular concern are many of the single carriageway and rural roads which are narrow and often do not have a wide verge or pavement. These are likely to require a marked vehicle and signage and in some cases lane closures to create the required safety zone to allow for the collection of the litter.
So increased litter all down to H&S
The impact of these changes is being felt nationally and all local authorities are having to change the way in which they carry out this work. Of particular concern are many of the single carriageway and rural roads which are narrow and often do not have a wide verge or pavement. These are likely to require a marked vehicle and signage and in some cases lane closures to create the required safety zone to allow for the collection of the litter.
So increased litter all down to H&S
Given the number of poor sods who have been flattened by inattentive drivers as they worked on the highway (or in one horrible accident local to me) were killed when they stopped to help somebody in distress I think health and safety is often literally a life saver. Easy for people to get all Clarkson-esque glib but real life is sometimes a bit more complicated .My job sometimes required me to attend inquests of people killed at work and it rather changed my perspective shall we say .
Anywhere near an out of town Macdonalds type drive in restaurant. The verges of the roads are always nailed with what folk throw out their windows, I asume that's it as I never see them throwing them but this is just another part of our buy today throw away tomorrow society. Everything is getting updated straight away, in the olden days you'd buy a TV and it'd be good for twentyish years, now you replace it as it's already out of date when it arrives in your living room. Mobile phones the same, cars in some ways too, buy today throw tomorrow.
japaneseskoda said:
Anywhere near an out of town Macdonalds type drive in restaurant. The verges of the roads are always nailed with what folk throw out their windows, I asume that's it as I never see them throwing them but this is just another part of our buy today throw away tomorrow society. Everything is getting updated straight away, in the olden days you'd buy a TV and it'd be good for twentyish years, now you replace it as it's already out of date when it arrives in your living room. Mobile phones the same, cars in some ways too, buy today throw tomorrow.
Completely agree that a disproportionate amount of the roadside litter around Lincs seems to carry the Golden Arches logo. Not sure that the incidence of 60" plasma TV roadside litter is up significantly though. I've had a couple of minor rants in the All creatures sub forum and on the E-cigs thread about this.
Just so much trash about and despite working hard to train the puppy into a rock solid leave and drop commands there is just some stuff you don't see in advance plus some stuff that's just so enticing to a breed that is completely food motivated.
The other night he got hold of a mint Aero wrapper from one of those big bars. Problem was there was half the fecking chocolate still inside and as we all know chocolate is not good for dogs. Got him to drop that Ok.
Out on the common we found some e-cig liquid bottles discarded. Apart from the risk of causing an obstruction if swallowed the nicotine in them is potentially and rapidly fatal. We've even had a couple of those tossed into the garden ffs. Funking smokers, anti social b
ds, now stopped chucking tab ends everywhere it's turned into even worse st chucked about by the wkers. That's from a life long non smoker who opposes the smoking restrictions Btw.
Chicken bones, spare rib bones, curry and chips just chucked. Packets of chocolate biscuits and cakes that the thieving little rats have nicked from Tesco, eaten half then chucked the rest. Probably same for the mint Aero above.
Also I'd like to nominate dog owners who don't even attempt to clear up. We clear up everything we can and include carrying kitchen towels to clean & make sure all traces picked up as far as possible. Seem to be in a minority.
Latest thing seems to be those moist towelettes that junior tarts use to scrub off makeup on their way home from school.
Pissed off.
Just so much trash about and despite working hard to train the puppy into a rock solid leave and drop commands there is just some stuff you don't see in advance plus some stuff that's just so enticing to a breed that is completely food motivated.
The other night he got hold of a mint Aero wrapper from one of those big bars. Problem was there was half the fecking chocolate still inside and as we all know chocolate is not good for dogs. Got him to drop that Ok.
Out on the common we found some e-cig liquid bottles discarded. Apart from the risk of causing an obstruction if swallowed the nicotine in them is potentially and rapidly fatal. We've even had a couple of those tossed into the garden ffs. Funking smokers, anti social b
ds, now stopped chucking tab ends everywhere it's turned into even worse st chucked about by the wkers. That's from a life long non smoker who opposes the smoking restrictions Btw.Chicken bones, spare rib bones, curry and chips just chucked. Packets of chocolate biscuits and cakes that the thieving little rats have nicked from Tesco, eaten half then chucked the rest. Probably same for the mint Aero above.
Also I'd like to nominate dog owners who don't even attempt to clear up. We clear up everything we can and include carrying kitchen towels to clean & make sure all traces picked up as far as possible. Seem to be in a minority.
Latest thing seems to be those moist towelettes that junior tarts use to scrub off makeup on their way home from school.
Pissed off.
Nearly all filling stations have a coffee machine/outlet, sandwiches, cakes etc. town centres have coffee shops & fast food aplenty & people just don't give a flying one what happens to the litter.
Even my local Waitrose gives away coffee on some scheme or other & it's middle class customers also seem to lack the ability to use a waste bin.
I was in Scarborough last summer for a few days & was pleasantly surprised by the lack of coffe cups & general litter, then I realised the place didn't have Starbucks type coffe shops they had 'Ye olde tea shoppe' where you sat down at a table to drink it.
Even my local Waitrose gives away coffee on some scheme or other & it's middle class customers also seem to lack the ability to use a waste bin.
I was in Scarborough last summer for a few days & was pleasantly surprised by the lack of coffe cups & general litter, then I realised the place didn't have Starbucks type coffe shops they had 'Ye olde tea shoppe' where you sat down at a table to drink it.
FiF said:
I've had a couple of minor rants in the All creatures sub forum and on the E-cigs thread about this.
Just so much trash about and despite working hard to train the puppy into a rock solid leave and drop commands there is just some stuff you don't see in advance plus some stuff that's just so enticing to a breed that is completely food motivated.
The other night he got hold of a mint Aero wrapper from one of those big bars. Problem was there was half the fecking chocolate still inside and as we all know chocolate is not good for dogs. Got him to drop that Ok.
Out on the common we found some e-cig liquid bottles discarded. Apart from the risk of causing an obstruction if swallowed the nicotine in them is potentially and rapidly fatal. We've even had a couple of those tossed into the garden ffs. Funking smokers, anti social bds, now stopped chucking tab ends everywhere it's turned into even worse st chucked about by the wkers. That's from a life long non smoker who opposes the smoking restrictions Btw.
Chicken bones, spare rib bones, curry and chips just chucked. Packets of chocolate biscuits and cakes that the thieving little rats have nicked from Tesco, eaten half then chucked the rest. Probably same for the mint Aero above.
Also I'd like to nominate dog owners who don't even attempt to clear up. We clear up everything we can and include carrying kitchen towels to clean & make sure all traces picked up as far as possible. Seem to be in a minority.
Latest thing seems to be those moist towelettes that junior tarts use to scrub off makeup on their way home from school.
Pissed off.
Agree 100%Just so much trash about and despite working hard to train the puppy into a rock solid leave and drop commands there is just some stuff you don't see in advance plus some stuff that's just so enticing to a breed that is completely food motivated.
The other night he got hold of a mint Aero wrapper from one of those big bars. Problem was there was half the fecking chocolate still inside and as we all know chocolate is not good for dogs. Got him to drop that Ok.
Out on the common we found some e-cig liquid bottles discarded. Apart from the risk of causing an obstruction if swallowed the nicotine in them is potentially and rapidly fatal. We've even had a couple of those tossed into the garden ffs. Funking smokers, anti social b
ds, now stopped chucking tab ends everywhere it's turned into even worse st chucked about by the wkers. That's from a life long non smoker who opposes the smoking restrictions Btw.Chicken bones, spare rib bones, curry and chips just chucked. Packets of chocolate biscuits and cakes that the thieving little rats have nicked from Tesco, eaten half then chucked the rest. Probably same for the mint Aero above.
Also I'd like to nominate dog owners who don't even attempt to clear up. We clear up everything we can and include carrying kitchen towels to clean & make sure all traces picked up as far as possible. Seem to be in a minority.
Latest thing seems to be those moist towelettes that junior tarts use to scrub off makeup on their way home from school.
Pissed off.
WTF is wrong with people?
I was walking through town yesterday & the place was filthy, ranging from a fridge dumped at the corner of a residential street which still had a pint of milk in the bottom tray (the door wasn't closed & people had stuffed all sorts of garbage in the door trays etc) to every other thing imaginable.
I walked up one street to where a bus had just pulled up. A guy got off & immediately lit up a fag, silver foil & match straight on the ground. I would have said something but had only just left hospital.
I just posted a topic on this subject without realising this topic was already up
it seems mad to cut back litter collection on a small island with the second highest population density in Europe and a population who are too selfish/childish to clean their own st up
If we're going to have a population of 80 million by 2050, as some estimates suggest, we're going to need a sense of social responsibility and environmental care exhibited by the Japanese. Which means selfish people are going to have to be forced to take responsibility, regardless of the costs to our liberal society.
it seems mad to cut back litter collection on a small island with the second highest population density in Europe and a population who are too selfish/childish to clean their own s
t upIf we're going to have a population of 80 million by 2050, as some estimates suggest, we're going to need a sense of social responsibility and environmental care exhibited by the Japanese. Which means selfish people are going to have to be forced to take responsibility, regardless of the costs to our liberal society.
Council litter picking costs YOU money
Litter picking along the side of the road is extremely dangerous
It isn't the council/Highways Agency that dumps the stuff
It is the general public, from the smoker dropping his ciggy packet, the school kid his/her sweet wrapper, people coming home from the pub with their F&C/pizza/kebab/McyD box.
The fly tipper dumping the mattress, the factory/building site/shop not disposing of their packaging correctly.
Litter picking along the side of the road is extremely dangerous
It isn't the council/Highways Agency that dumps the stuff
It is the general public, from the smoker dropping his ciggy packet, the school kid his/her sweet wrapper, people coming home from the pub with their F&C/pizza/kebab/McyD box.
The fly tipper dumping the mattress, the factory/building site/shop not disposing of their packaging correctly.
Skyedriver said:
Council litter picking costs YOU money
Litter picking along the side of the road is extremely dangerous
It isn't the council/Highways Agency that dumps the stuff
It is the general public, from the smoker dropping his ciggy packet, the school kid his/her sweet wrapper, people coming home from the pub with their F&C/pizza/kebab/McyD box.
The fly tipper dumping the mattress, the factory/building site/shop not disposing of their packaging correctly.
It is a price worth paying in a civilised country. Litter picking along the side of the road is extremely dangerous
It isn't the council/Highways Agency that dumps the stuff
It is the general public, from the smoker dropping his ciggy packet, the school kid his/her sweet wrapper, people coming home from the pub with their F&C/pizza/kebab/McyD box.
The fly tipper dumping the mattress, the factory/building site/shop not disposing of their packaging correctly.
When I worked in an M&S store it was made my job as a first aider to pick up used condoms from around the loading bay where prostitutes had been banged up against the loading bay doors. The fact I was a first aider was used as a convenient excuse to say I had to do it.
A lot of people say companies should take responsibility for their packaging when it gets dropped as litter. McDonald's bigwigs in corporate offices get the poor sods who work in their restaurants to litter pick in the rain just so they themselves can look good. Food can't be sold without being in some form of packaging and the companies can't be held responsible for what their customers do with it once they've eaten the food.
Comments about benefits scroungers are straight out of the Daily Mail. Few people claim benefits and don't work because they don't want to and everything including pensions is labelled as a benefit now so the government can cut it and pander to people who moan about benefits scroungers. We can't get people into productive paid work if we're using them as slave labour and taking away their self respect. Any of us could be made redundant tomorrow and wouldn't expect to end up in a roadside chain gang being pelted with bottles of driver Tizer and bags of st by passing motorists. Where I live offenders are taken out to litter pick and maintain parks and gardens and a guy who lives up the road from me works with young offenders doing productive work like this to teach them skills and get them back on track without them ending up in jail and hardened to crime.
A lot of people say companies should take responsibility for their packaging when it gets dropped as litter. McDonald's bigwigs in corporate offices get the poor sods who work in their restaurants to litter pick in the rain just so they themselves can look good. Food can't be sold without being in some form of packaging and the companies can't be held responsible for what their customers do with it once they've eaten the food.
Comments about benefits scroungers are straight out of the Daily Mail. Few people claim benefits and don't work because they don't want to and everything including pensions is labelled as a benefit now so the government can cut it and pander to people who moan about benefits scroungers. We can't get people into productive paid work if we're using them as slave labour and taking away their self respect. Any of us could be made redundant tomorrow and wouldn't expect to end up in a roadside chain gang being pelted with bottles of driver Tizer and bags of s
t by passing motorists. Where I live offenders are taken out to litter pick and maintain parks and gardens and a guy who lives up the road from me works with young offenders doing productive work like this to teach them skills and get them back on track without them ending up in jail and hardened to crime. Noticed this just the other day along the A303 too.
To be fair, a lot of stuff seems to get blown out of poorly secured trucks too. Great big tippers being used to transport recycling waste leave a trail of debris in their wake. It just blows intot he undergrowth... It's a national disgrace.
To be fair, a lot of stuff seems to get blown out of poorly secured trucks too. Great big tippers being used to transport recycling waste leave a trail of debris in their wake. It just blows intot he undergrowth... It's a national disgrace.
Had a very slow ride on my bike along the country lane I drive daily today. They amount of litter was unreal. There must have been 20+ half bottles of buckfast and two full sized bottles spread along a two mile stretch. Guessing the local youths must drink along there every weekend, some bottles looked brand new and some very faded. Probably only four other alcohol bottles along there so definitely points to some little rat with a liking of Bucky who can take it out with him but not carry it home
People don't give a monkeys anymore, that combined with the fact the know they'll never get caught.
Police don't seem to be bothered by anything other than whatever they're told to do that day. Never see the cars parked on the junctions in the town i work with a ticket on them despite it's an offence to park there, i've seen traffic cars drive past without giving them a second look.
The A34 around Oxford is a hideous mess, they do litter picking but only on the sliproads. It's made worse by the Highways now cutting the grass/foliage and exposing all the rubbish.
Police don't seem to be bothered by anything other than whatever they're told to do that day. Never see the cars parked on the junctions in the town i work with a ticket on them despite it's an offence to park there, i've seen traffic cars drive past without giving them a second look.
The A34 around Oxford is a hideous mess, they do litter picking but only on the sliproads. It's made worse by the Highways now cutting the grass/foliage and exposing all the rubbish.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff