Psychology of Litter Dumping on the Highway
Discussion
Each morning on our remote country lane I find fresh litter, which I pick up and put in the saddlebag on my morning four mile run to work. Gloves de rigeur., final destination our wheelie bin.
There are a couple of things that are apparent in my ten years of trying to keep our lane tidy.
Firstly it is always the crap that people do not want in their lives. Macdonalds, sweet papers, cigarette packets tissues and nappies (the last two do not go in the saddlebag!). Pill cartons, cola,energy drink cans and all the unhealthy things you can think of. Never have I picked up a carton or packet of organic food, Spring Water, health food products.etc.
Secondly people actually do have a conscience about littering but at various levels.
Rarely is there much on the main road but there is about thirty yards from the crossroads an area where they chuck it as they cannot be seen by the traffic.
Then those with more conscience will wait till they reach the first corner when they feel more out of sight leaving a clear patch of several hundred yards from the first dumping.
Then there are those with even more conscience who wait till they are over the brow of the hill, and the final criminal who pulls into a field gateway and dumps it there.
I wish that schools would do a litter picking exercise, as surely education is the way forward and if they see their parents throwing stuff out then there is a chance of improvement.
Alas, 'elf and safety would never allow this.
We had a Danish child to stay and she was horrified at the sight of the rubbish on the roads around here which I do not clear.
"What is all this rubbish doing on the side of the road". (Aged ten)
"Well, people just chuck it out of their car windows" say I
" have they not a waste bin at home? "In Denmark we do not have this problem"
I could not think of an answer.
So I suggested that we both did something positive and suggested we clear another half mile stretch.
I took a couple of big black bin liners thinking that would be enough.
Twenty four full bin liners later we reach the end of the half mile stretch! I took a photo of her with the rubbish and sent it to the local paper where they devoted a whole page and colour photo with the headline " Danish Girl Shames English Litterers"
I sent it to her school over there where they pinned on the main school notice board.
There are a couple of things that are apparent in my ten years of trying to keep our lane tidy.
Firstly it is always the crap that people do not want in their lives. Macdonalds, sweet papers, cigarette packets tissues and nappies (the last two do not go in the saddlebag!). Pill cartons, cola,energy drink cans and all the unhealthy things you can think of. Never have I picked up a carton or packet of organic food, Spring Water, health food products.etc.
Secondly people actually do have a conscience about littering but at various levels.
Rarely is there much on the main road but there is about thirty yards from the crossroads an area where they chuck it as they cannot be seen by the traffic.
Then those with more conscience will wait till they reach the first corner when they feel more out of sight leaving a clear patch of several hundred yards from the first dumping.
Then there are those with even more conscience who wait till they are over the brow of the hill, and the final criminal who pulls into a field gateway and dumps it there.
I wish that schools would do a litter picking exercise, as surely education is the way forward and if they see their parents throwing stuff out then there is a chance of improvement.
Alas, 'elf and safety would never allow this.
We had a Danish child to stay and she was horrified at the sight of the rubbish on the roads around here which I do not clear.
"What is all this rubbish doing on the side of the road". (Aged ten)
"Well, people just chuck it out of their car windows" say I
" have they not a waste bin at home? "In Denmark we do not have this problem"
I could not think of an answer.
So I suggested that we both did something positive and suggested we clear another half mile stretch.
I took a couple of big black bin liners thinking that would be enough.
Twenty four full bin liners later we reach the end of the half mile stretch! I took a photo of her with the rubbish and sent it to the local paper where they devoted a whole page and colour photo with the headline " Danish Girl Shames English Litterers"
I sent it to her school over there where they pinned on the main school notice board.
Edited by Vanin on Wednesday 8th October 15:31
It's one of the things I really hate in life.
Last year we had a problem with kids from the local school dropping litter, usually sausage roll bags from the local shop. It made me mad and I got all Victor Meldrew with emails to the school and I asked them to bring it up in assembly (if they still had such a thing). It seemed to work and the littering stopped.
Shame that can't be done on a larger scale, like a 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaign again.
Last year we had a problem with kids from the local school dropping litter, usually sausage roll bags from the local shop. It made me mad and I got all Victor Meldrew with emails to the school and I asked them to bring it up in assembly (if they still had such a thing). It seemed to work and the littering stopped.
Shame that can't be done on a larger scale, like a 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaign again.
As someone whose mother made him a Wombling bag so I could pick up litter on the way to and from pre-school aged three I'd hazard it's a parenting issue. Litterers spawn litterers and so on.
You could split the population into litterers and non-litterers. And then you could split the litterers into their constituent parts with a felling axe and the country would be a much better place.
You could split the population into litterers and non-litterers. And then you could split the litterers into their constituent parts with a felling axe and the country would be a much better place.
Some people are scum. That's the answer, they live scummy, banal little lives and don't give a f
k about anything other than their own needs at that moment. I saw a bloke walking in front of me open his sandwich, throw the package on the floor and start walking away yesterday. I picked it up and shouted to him 'you've forgotten something' he looked at it like he'd never seen it before in his life and kept walking. I just popped it in the fkers hoody as I jogged past and he didn't seem to notice. No doubt he just dumped it back on the floor.
k about anything other than their own needs at that moment. I saw a bloke walking in front of me open his sandwich, throw the package on the floor and start walking away yesterday. I picked it up and shouted to him 'you've forgotten something' he looked at it like he'd never seen it before in his life and kept walking. I just popped it in the fkers hoody as I jogged past and he didn't seem to notice. No doubt he just dumped it back on the floor.Motorrad said:
Some people are scum. That's the answer, they live scummy, banal little lives and don't give a fk about anything other than their own needs at that moment. I saw a bloke walking in front of me open his sandwich, throw the package on the floor and start walking away yesterday. I picked it up and shouted to him 'you've forgotten something' he looked at it like he'd never seen it before in his life and kept walking. I just popped it in the fkers hoody as I jogged past and he didn't seem to notice. No doubt he just dumped it back on the floor.
Agreed.k about anything other than their own needs at that moment. I saw a bloke walking in front of me open his sandwich, throw the package on the floor and start walking away yesterday. I picked it up and shouted to him 'you've forgotten something' he looked at it like he'd never seen it before in his life and kept walking. I just popped it in the fkers hoody as I jogged past and he didn't seem to notice. No doubt he just dumped it back on the floor.Being from NZ, the chronic, thoughtless littering here in the UK is something I have never gotten used to.
We had a "Be a tidy Kiwi" campaign back home when I was a kid, and it worked, everyone hates littering.
Last week a couple of plastic bags full of rubbish, beer cans etc were dumped next to a litter bin near my house.
Why these bags weren't put in the bin is down to sheer laziness, the rubbish spilled out all over the pavement.
In amongst the rubbish I found a partial envelope with the full address intact, a quick phone call to the council soon set the wheels in motion for a fixed penalty notice for the lazy bd.
Perhaps He/She will think twice the next time.
Why these bags weren't put in the bin is down to sheer laziness, the rubbish spilled out all over the pavement.
In amongst the rubbish I found a partial envelope with the full address intact, a quick phone call to the council soon set the wheels in motion for a fixed penalty notice for the lazy b
d.Perhaps He/She will think twice the next time.
A few months ago somebody I follow on Twitter posted "LOL, threw a can out my window at a stop light and the guy in front actually got out to pick it up!" (although without mentioning whether it was handed back).
It was followed by many obvious replies "Why did you throw a can out of your window?", to which the reply was along the lines of not having a 'trash bag' in his car or something, but the original post was phrased that they literally just didn't give a toss what happened to anything they threw out of their window. Sort of "If it's not in my car any more it's not my problem, somebody else will pick it up"
It was followed by many obvious replies "Why did you throw a can out of your window?", to which the reply was along the lines of not having a 'trash bag' in his car or something, but the original post was phrased that they literally just didn't give a toss what happened to anything they threw out of their window. Sort of "If it's not in my car any more it's not my problem, somebody else will pick it up"
yonex said:
. My pet hate is smokers actually, some of whom think nothing of flicking their smouldering delights without a care in the world to others.
Bottom feeders.
Even better when the smouldering delight wedges itself somewhere in a recess your shiny new Gore Tex textile suit when travelling on the motorbike... Bottom feeders.
J B L said:
yonex said:
. My pet hate is smokers actually, some of whom think nothing of flicking their smouldering delights without a care in the world to others.
Bottom feeders.
Even better when the smouldering delight wedges itself somewhere in a recess your shiny new Gore Tex textile suit when travelling on the motorbike... Bottom feeders.
Yesterday I was sat parked in the car waiting for the GF to come out an interview, I was drinking some variety of iced coffee, finished it and decided since we we're dashing off on a 2 hour drive and I didn't fancy having said plastic cup in the car I got out, walked for 10minutes until I found a bin and placed aforementioned container in said bin, easy peasy. However it seems that's not the norm which to me is just mental.
Like decent folk I was raised to put litter in the bin but I guess some people just aren't, I once lived with a guy who stoically refused to put his used tea bags in the bin vs the sink, a difference of literally 43cm extra to avoid the sink being left full of teabags. It's all about conditioning, once your past being a child whatever you did as a child is seen as normal in your mind regardless of what society says. To me these things are the product of careless parents who don't pay attention to their kids, don't care themselves etc etc. The end result of badly raised kids isn't hell on earth or a nation of criminals it's just generally stness everywhere and an inability to think of anyone but yourself.
Ps also worth blaming the "so what if I take my litter home, nobody else does so what difference will I make" sort of person.
Like decent folk I was raised to put litter in the bin but I guess some people just aren't, I once lived with a guy who stoically refused to put his used tea bags in the bin vs the sink, a difference of literally 43cm extra to avoid the sink being left full of teabags. It's all about conditioning, once your past being a child whatever you did as a child is seen as normal in your mind regardless of what society says. To me these things are the product of careless parents who don't pay attention to their kids, don't care themselves etc etc. The end result of badly raised kids isn't hell on earth or a nation of criminals it's just generally s
tness everywhere and an inability to think of anyone but yourself.Ps also worth blaming the "so what if I take my litter home, nobody else does so what difference will I make" sort of person.
One of my houses is on a main road (in a 'nice' area!!!) and 99% of the litter in the front garden consists of dog ends and 'deal' bags with residue. So it appears as well as being dirty bds, a substantial number of drivers are probably driving by steering with their knees as per the favourite smokers' light up technique, and the rest are drugged up to the eyeballs! Explains a lot about the standard of driving these days.
ds, a substantial number of drivers are probably driving by steering with their knees as per the favourite smokers' light up technique, and the rest are drugged up to the eyeballs! Explains a lot about the standard of driving these days.gus607 said:
Last week a couple of plastic bags full of rubbish, beer cans etc were dumped next to a litter bin near my house.
Why these bags weren't put in the bin is down to sheer laziness, the rubbish spilled out all over the pavement.
In amongst the rubbish I found a partial envelope with the full address intact, a quick phone call to the council soon set the wheels in motion for a fixed penalty notice for the lazy bd.
Perhaps He/She will think twice the next time.
Why these bags weren't put in the bin is down to sheer laziness, the rubbish spilled out all over the pavement.
In amongst the rubbish I found a partial envelope with the full address intact, a quick phone call to the council soon set the wheels in motion for a fixed penalty notice for the lazy b
d.Perhaps He/She will think twice the next time.
Don't start me on the rubbish in the woods where I take the dog for walkies. 3 cut dog feet on glass in the past year. I predicted this years ago when the council cut out free rubbish collection. Save money they said. Except they now have to have 'woods rubbish clearance days' with a dump truck, skips and a team of pickers.
Toaster Pilot said:
J B L said:
yonex said:
. My pet hate is smokers actually, some of whom think nothing of flicking their smouldering delights without a care in the world to others.
Bottom feeders.
Even better when the smouldering delight wedges itself somewhere in a recess your shiny new Gore Tex textile suit when travelling on the motorbike... Bottom feeders.
Except cigarettes cannot light petrol, it just extinguishes the cigarette.
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