Roadside rubbish... any HE staff here?
Discussion
NerveAgent said:
This is something I’ve noticed more and more recently on a frequent journey I do (Nottinghamshire - Manchester). Some of the A-roads are now awful. I wondered if it was a perception thing, but looking at street view even a couple of years ago things were much better.
I’d assumed this is one of the first things to be cut from budgets, many parts are really looking like a poor country.
I think the councils and HE just wait til the spring growth hides the rubbish for 6 months then mow it into millions of smaller pieces in the autumn. I’d assumed this is one of the first things to be cut from budgets, many parts are really looking like a poor country.
As I’ve said, an easy solution is convert a few custodial sentences into litter picking sentences etc.
coppice said:
Yeah , my wife, who was on the parish council and very pissed off with rubbish, once walked into a meeting with a binliner full of vodka and orange cans , having been told by the farmers on the council that all rubbish was from ' bloody walkers, townies and cyclists ' coming to our village . With a little bit of research she was able to show exactly where the rubbish was from - someone in the village, who worked on a farm...
Yes I went to the Coates Parish Council to see if they could identify the culprit as it’s a small place and clearly whoever was doing it would be known as they only drank gin and energy drinks. From the thousands of cans they must have been throwing them out their car for years. They wouldn’t try to identify the person though. Dylano said:
I resent doing any such work for free but as someone who has plenty of free time I'd happily spend a couple of hours per week litter picking the verges a mile either side of my village if the council would recognise and reward my effort in some token way.
I do the laybye and stretch of A road by my house several times a year. I accept some litter is accidental and don’t mind picking that. I don’t mind doing it free. I really get annoyed at clearing up after litter louts though, really annoys me. Example last week someone stopped in the laybye to top up oil. Then dumped the empty 5L plastic container in the laybye. I can’t even imagine why they wouldn’t take it home and recycle it.
Dylano said:
I resent doing any such work for free but as someone who has plenty of free time I'd happily spend a couple of hours per week litter picking the verges a mile either side of my village if the council would recognise and reward my effort in some token way.
Ask them - some will offer free kit and tabards . Better to ask the town or parish council than county etc . . ARHarh said:
coppice said:
Ask them - some will offer free kit and tabards . Better to ask the town or parish council than county etc . .
But as soon as you do that its going to involve risk assessments, training etc.HelterSkelter said:
We were out litter picking a 3.5km stretch of the M1 today (just as it started snowing 
) so it's not just spring/summer/grass cutting season when it gets done.
Are you a contractor working for the HE? How often does that stretch of M1 get picked for example? Do all HE raods get picked at least once a year or are some abandoned forever? Why do HE mow the verges before picking the litter up? Surely its easier to pick litter before it is shredded by mowers? ) so it's not just spring/summer/grass cutting season when it gets done.Edited by HelterSkelter on Wednesday 8th March 15:00
Genuinely interested. I am sure there is more sense to it than I think there is.
Can’t ever remember seeing the verges and reservations in such a state - then on the way down the A1 this evening, some lay-bys were shut and there was a Veolia van and men with some giant clear sacks of rubbish. Maybe they have noticed.
https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/16194015...
https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/16194015...
NomduJour said:
Can’t ever remember seeing the verges and reservations in such a state - then on the way down the A1 this evening, some lay-bys were shut and there was a Veolia van and men with some giant clear sacks of rubbish. Maybe they have noticed.
https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/16194015...
That video in the tweet is precisely why I started this thread. That is exactly what I was seeing along the A46 and M69, blinking disgusting. My issue as per first post though is why the HE and LAs mow the rubbish rather than picking it up before mowing. https://twitter.com/cleanupbritain/status/16194015...
Dylano said:
I resent doing any such work for free but as someone who has plenty of free time I'd happily spend a couple of hours per week litter picking the verges a mile either side of my village if the council would recognise and reward my effort in some token way.
Why not organise something, then? My local parish council organises monthly 'clean-ups'; it's a small village but in recent years there has been a complete lack of work from the higher-tier councils, zilch. Plenty of excuses, meetings, visits etc. explaining why they can't do anything (budgets, need for training, cost of this that and the other etc) but no real action.
The locals have taken it upon themselves to do something, whilst still paying their ever-increasing Council Taxes for little or no service, certainly significantly reduced services). There are whinges about 'you haven't been trained, you can't pick up this/that or the other as it's dangerous, could be hazardous etc.' but the group of people just get on and do it, receiving many compliments from other locals.
None of them expect remuneration, though there are plenty of moans about paying somebody else to do it and still doing it yourself. People are happy to do it, then get together in the village pub afterwards for a drink and chat.
They tried to get 'community service' to do it. Meetings, lots of explanations as to why they couldn't etc. (supervision, training, health & safety etc). Waste of time.
My suggestion to the county-council Leader of the Council, who lives nearby, that we should receive a discount on our council tax seemed lost on him
I also agree that this country now looks a mess and, regularly driving in Europe, notice the difference within 15-minutes of arriving back in Blighty, whether that's road surfaces or litter.
The councils should slap (hefty) surcharges on takeaway places as part of planning conditions and use that to clear up; it just needs a different mindset. Unfortunately, litter-picking etc can't be done 'working from home' or sat at a desk.
TarquinMX5 said:
Why not organise something, then?
My local parish council organises monthly 'clean-ups'; it's a small village but in recent years there has been a complete lack of work from the higher-tier councils, zilch. Plenty of excuses, meetings, visits etc. explaining why they can't do anything (budgets, need for training, cost of this that and the other etc) but no real action.
The locals have taken it upon themselves to do something, whilst still paying their ever-increasing Council Taxes for little or no service, certainly significantly reduced services). There are whinges about 'you haven't been trained, you can't pick up this/that or the other as it's dangerous, could be hazardous etc.' but the group of people just get on and do it, receiving many compliments from other locals.
None of them expect remuneration, though there are plenty of moans about paying somebody else to do it and still doing it yourself. People are happy to do it, then get together in the village pub afterwards for a drink and chat.
They tried to get 'community service' to do it. Meetings, lots of explanations as to why they couldn't etc. (supervision, training, health & safety etc). Waste of time.
My suggestion to the county-council Leader of the Council, who lives nearby, that we should receive a discount on our council tax seemed lost on him
I also agree that this country now looks a mess and, regularly driving in Europe, notice the difference within 15-minutes of arriving back in Blighty, whether that's road surfaces or litter.
The councils should slap (hefty) surcharges on takeaway places as part of planning conditions and use that to clear up; it just needs a different mindset. Unfortunately, litter-picking etc can't be done 'working from home' or sat at a desk.
Some brilliant points there coupled with "can do" attitude. Thanks for trying to make a difference.My local parish council organises monthly 'clean-ups'; it's a small village but in recent years there has been a complete lack of work from the higher-tier councils, zilch. Plenty of excuses, meetings, visits etc. explaining why they can't do anything (budgets, need for training, cost of this that and the other etc) but no real action.
The locals have taken it upon themselves to do something, whilst still paying their ever-increasing Council Taxes for little or no service, certainly significantly reduced services). There are whinges about 'you haven't been trained, you can't pick up this/that or the other as it's dangerous, could be hazardous etc.' but the group of people just get on and do it, receiving many compliments from other locals.
None of them expect remuneration, though there are plenty of moans about paying somebody else to do it and still doing it yourself. People are happy to do it, then get together in the village pub afterwards for a drink and chat.
They tried to get 'community service' to do it. Meetings, lots of explanations as to why they couldn't etc. (supervision, training, health & safety etc). Waste of time.
My suggestion to the county-council Leader of the Council, who lives nearby, that we should receive a discount on our council tax seemed lost on him
I also agree that this country now looks a mess and, regularly driving in Europe, notice the difference within 15-minutes of arriving back in Blighty, whether that's road surfaces or litter.
The councils should slap (hefty) surcharges on takeaway places as part of planning conditions and use that to clear up; it just needs a different mindset. Unfortunately, litter-picking etc can't be done 'working from home' or sat at a desk.
I don't want to be too much of an apologist for the county council , but litter comes a long way down the list of priorities . Education and adult care services consume vast amounts and highway cash gets pulled into gritting (folk either want less gritting , or their estate road gritted before 7am by magic ) , repair and some even gets spent on potholes . Cue cries of oh no it doesn't .
As said , town and parish councils (essentially the same thing ) are far smaller in budget (often tiny ) and area but have a lot more discretion in what they do. In my small market town they do an absolutely brilliant job . Litter picks , often helped by volunteers like my neighbour, pavement salting , dog bin emptying , etc - it is a credit to the community .
As for McDonalds etc I really do not blame them - I have eaten plenty of fast food without feeling the need to jettison my rubbish . There is a serious societal problem where a minority seem to take an active pride in thinking 'beauty spot ? park ? nicely trimmed grass verge ? F*** 'em , cop for this pile of s
te '
As said , town and parish councils (essentially the same thing ) are far smaller in budget (often tiny ) and area but have a lot more discretion in what they do. In my small market town they do an absolutely brilliant job . Litter picks , often helped by volunteers like my neighbour, pavement salting , dog bin emptying , etc - it is a credit to the community .
As for McDonalds etc I really do not blame them - I have eaten plenty of fast food without feeling the need to jettison my rubbish . There is a serious societal problem where a minority seem to take an active pride in thinking 'beauty spot ? park ? nicely trimmed grass verge ? F*** 'em , cop for this pile of s
te ' Edited by coppice on Sunday 12th March 06:49
As you join the AWPR in Stonehaven (thats the Aberdeen by-pass), a few yards into it is a sign saying usually something like -
"We have filled 180 bags of rubbish from the roadside in the last month"
Why oh why do people just chuck their rubbish out, to keep the road clean not only results in lanes being restricted, it puts the workers in some danger as those using the other lane totally ignore the reduced speed limit.
Its much the same after a day at the beach when the sun is out, and they ban dogs on some, probably just as well in case they cut their feet on the rubbish left behing.
One punter was asked why he left his rubbish on the beach, he said "Well the bins are full".........
"We have filled 180 bags of rubbish from the roadside in the last month"
Why oh why do people just chuck their rubbish out, to keep the road clean not only results in lanes being restricted, it puts the workers in some danger as those using the other lane totally ignore the reduced speed limit.
Its much the same after a day at the beach when the sun is out, and they ban dogs on some, probably just as well in case they cut their feet on the rubbish left behing.
One punter was asked why he left his rubbish on the beach, he said "Well the bins are full".........
Edited by Vipers on Saturday 11th March 17:13
coppice said:
I don't want to be too much of an apologist for the county council , but litter comes a long way down the list of priorities . Education and adult care services consume vast amounts and highway cash gets pulled into gritting (folk either want less gritting , or their estate road gritted before 7am by magic ) , repair and some even gets spent on potholes . Cue cries of oh no it doesn't .
As said , town and parish councils (essentially the same thing ) are far smaller in budget (often tiny ) and area but have a lot more discretion in what they do. In my small market town they do an absolutely brilliant job . Litter picks , often helped by volunteers like my neighbour, pavement salting , dog bin emptying , etc - it is a credit to the community .
As for McDonalds etc I really do not blame them - I have eaten plenty of fast food without feeling the need to jettison my rubbish . There is a serious societal problem where a minority seem to take an active pride in thinking 'beauty spot ? park ? nicely trimmed grass verge ? F*** 'em , cop for this pile of ste '
I agree with you that Councils will always have higher statutory obligations than picking up litter. But why not be innovative and motivate the many people who would be happy to do "something"? For example every few months there is some 5k run in aid of breast cancer, or local school or whatever. Why not get all these people willing to do something, do something useful like a sponsored litter pick in the area? Sponsor the group for 10p/sack or something. Far better use of everyone's time than running 5k imo.As said , town and parish councils (essentially the same thing ) are far smaller in budget (often tiny ) and area but have a lot more discretion in what they do. In my small market town they do an absolutely brilliant job . Litter picks , often helped by volunteers like my neighbour, pavement salting , dog bin emptying , etc - it is a credit to the community .
As for McDonalds etc I really do not blame them - I have eaten plenty of fast food without feeling the need to jettison my rubbish . There is a serious societal problem where a minority seem to take an active pride in thinking 'beauty spot ? park ? nicely trimmed grass verge ? F*** 'em , cop for this pile of s
te ' Edited by coppice on Sunday 12th March 06:49
I've mentioned Councils using those doing community service. If the councils would get innovative, and wind their necks in re H&S, "something" could be done instead of them just bleating on about no money.
(And before anyone suggests it, I am not suggesting 5 year old are sent off up the A40 picking litter, but each group according to their ability etc could be directed to parks, minor roads or A roads accordingly.)
Scarletpimpofnel said:
But why not be innovative and motivate the many people who would be happy to do "something"? For example every few months there is some 5k run in aid of breast cancer, or local school or whatever. Why not get all these people willing to do something, do something useful like a sponsored litter pick in the area? Sponsor the group for 10p/sack or something. Far better use of everyone's time than running 5k imo.
Because running a 5k in a park is both good fun and healthy, whereas spending a morning or afternoon picking litter off verges/roadsides is somewhat dangerous, you'll be breathing in exhaust fumes, and is overall just miserable?Dumfries and Galloway council decided to remove the bins from some roads and as a result the rubbish is horrendous and does not get lifted by them.
HGV s park in laybys and the amount of rubbish , bottles filled with urine and other despicable things is awful.
I would suggest hidden cameras to catch the culprits but that would be against the rules probably.
I would also try getting the people on community service to do litter picking but they would find a clause to get out of doing it.
They are not allowed to do street cleaning, in case their friends see them up the town and if they turn up and do not feel like working ,they don't have to but still get signed off that they attended.
McDonalds KFC etc etc should be made to put registration numbers on packaging so that the dumpers could get fines.
The A75 is horrendous for rubbish as people don't care about the countryside and Amey cannot collect all the discarded rubbish.
Rant over Sorry
HGV s park in laybys and the amount of rubbish , bottles filled with urine and other despicable things is awful.
I would suggest hidden cameras to catch the culprits but that would be against the rules probably.
I would also try getting the people on community service to do litter picking but they would find a clause to get out of doing it.
They are not allowed to do street cleaning, in case their friends see them up the town and if they turn up and do not feel like working ,they don't have to but still get signed off that they attended.
McDonalds KFC etc etc should be made to put registration numbers on packaging so that the dumpers could get fines.
The A75 is horrendous for rubbish as people don't care about the countryside and Amey cannot collect all the discarded rubbish.
Rant over Sorry
Cameras are fine , and my local council uses them for catching some fly tipping miscreants.
But I disagree that the Council is in any way to blame because it has no bins. What is to blame is the inexplicable mindset that littering is permissible under any circumstances . Bins , unless emptied and cleaned very frequently , just attract more litter in the vicinity and it's common to see old sofas etc left near them . The government is talking about upping the fines , getting offenders to clear up and the rest but that is just noise . What is needed is a serious public education campaign , from primary school on , about littering AND more resources applied to offenders actually being caught .
But I disagree that the Council is in any way to blame because it has no bins. What is to blame is the inexplicable mindset that littering is permissible under any circumstances . Bins , unless emptied and cleaned very frequently , just attract more litter in the vicinity and it's common to see old sofas etc left near them . The government is talking about upping the fines , getting offenders to clear up and the rest but that is just noise . What is needed is a serious public education campaign , from primary school on , about littering AND more resources applied to offenders actually being caught .
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