My parents did a pretty good job of raising me and my brothers and sister I think. We were taught right from wrong, admonished (occasionally very severely when it warranted - and sometimes it was). One of the things ingrained to us from a very early age was not to drop or leave litter anywhere at any time. It was ok for example to throw an apple core away as that was biodegradable, but anything not likely to break down quickly was safely stowed and brought back home with us.
When we were on holiday at the beach, the last thing we always did before leaving was have a look around to make sure that we left nothing but our footprints as the old saying goes. And that's stuck with me for life, and I hope is a behaviour passed on to my now grown up children. I can't abide people who disregard this and think it's ok to chuck or leave their litter or just chuck it out of their car window. It's a deliberate, lazy thing to do with no regard or respect for others and the environment. Just last week I was on a walk down a country lane near our house - at least a mile from the nearest shop/takeaway and miles from the nearest Starbucks and Costa, but within a hundred yards I saw a discarded Starbucks and Costa cup, a McDonald's food container and cup, and several beer and other cans on the side of the road. They don't get there by accident. Someone's taken a deliberate decision to throw those out of a car or van window.
So it's been with increasing but somewhat inevitable incredulity that we've witnessed scenes over the last week as people have left literally tonnes of litter on beaches around the country, in Cardiff Bay, at the Pierhead in Liverpool after "celebrations" for Liverpool winning the Premier League, and other places.
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| Bournemouth Beach (Getty) |
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| Cardiff Bay (Matthew Horwood) |
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| Liverpool (PA) |
Perhaps even more unbelievable are the "excuses" touted for this. That there aren't enough litter bins, that it's the local council's fault for not policing, or allowing too many people to congregate in one place. Those responsible are routinely described in the media as "revellers" or "beachgoers", when in reality many of them are ignorant individuals with no respect for regard for anything. They wouldn't (I'm assuming) leave their house in this state, but clearly think it's ok to leave this mess for others, often volunteers, to clear up, and they'd be the first to complain if they arrived somewhere looking like the images above. They're probably the same people that pick up their dog's poo in a bag and then hurl it into the bushes
All it takes it for one of their party to pack a bin bag in amongst their cases of beer, fast food, picnic bags etc, and put their rubbish in and take it home. It's not a difficult concept to grasp, but is clearly beyond the comprehension of these ignoramuses.
Sadly, it's becoming more prevalent, and the en-mass exodus to beaches and other places we're seeing as a result of the easing of lockdown is undoubtedly contributing to this herd behaviour. "Someone else has done it so it's ok for me to do it".
It's difficult to know what the answer is. Littering is an offence, but the likelihood of anyone being prosecuted or even identified over this is so remote its inconceivable that it could happen. And if they were caught, a minor fine is probably the worst that would happen. It's been frequently suggested that fast food containers should have car registrations printed on them to discourage littering from drive through fast food places. It's only a small step but it would be a start, and whilst there are undoubtedly some logistics required, it's surely do-able.
For those that are caught, I did see a suggestions somewhere that we should bring back public stocks to shame them. But even if that's a good idea, and I'd vote for it, we'd need an awful lot of stocks.
We need to change people's behaviour, but in today's "now" and "me" and "sod the rest of you" society, I can't see that happening any time soon, and that's really sad.
