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Litter in the UK

place to discuss doing things round and about the UK or to ask advice about other locations
dspp
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Litter in the UK

#336009

Postby dspp » August 26th, 2020, 10:11 am

It is not just a countryside thing, or just a campervan thing, however,

An unprecedented rise in litter, damaging fires and “fly-camping” across the English countryside is partly a result of the government spending less than £2,000 a year over the past decade on promoting the Countryside Code, campaigners say.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... yside-code

Walking regularly the area I do I can fairly confidently point the rural countryside litter finger at a few groups of culprits,
1) Grockles, on holiday, most of whom are from the cities.
2) Late night traffic between the local town and the local army camp - either the squaddies or their offspring.
3) Organised cycle/running events.
4) Fly tippers, most of whom for some reason always seem to dump their stuff on the roads near to/from the local 'traveller' locations, with another group seeming to specialise in dumping used motorsport tyres in laybys.

regards, dspp

didds
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Re: Litter in the UK

#336022

Postby didds » August 26th, 2020, 10:46 am

Im not convinced that it's because the Countryside Code isn't promoted.

There cannot be anybody over the age of (say) ten years old that doesn't know that littering is an anti social action. (some obvious caveats eg those with learning disabilities etc) .

They don't need a Countryside Code campaign for them to know dropping litter in the countryside is not a normally accepted action.

And alleged lack of knowledge of the countryside code doesn't explain why town centres are littered

didds

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Re: Litter in the UK

#336025

Postby Watis » August 26th, 2020, 10:52 am

One reason for an increase in fly-tipping is that dumps now charge for some waste - a backward step IMHO.

I would have dumps accept all waste from any source without charge. And have fly tippers punished with swingeing fines and confiscation of their vehicle.

Watis

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Litter in the UK

#336031

Postby UncleEbenezer » August 26th, 2020, 11:16 am

From a 1998 personal web page (which starts by lamenting how it took me so long to put it up, when I'd been active online for many years):

As I grow older, I find myself drawn to ever more remote places. But on a day by day basis, my more modest need is just for places not desecrated by the motorcar and driver. In a limited sense, that's surprisingly easy: in much of Britain (alas, less so in some other places I've lived), you only have to be 100 metres from the nearest road or car park, and it's free of their litter! Now, if only we could rid the place of cast-off fertiliser bags, and the miscellaneous detritus of an insufferably arrogant agricultural establishment(*) whose propaganda would have us believe they're guardians of the countryside! It's a shame you can't go more than a few miles, even in the most 'remote' areas, without encountering roads or car parks.

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Re: Litter in the UK

#336124

Postby Sobraon » August 26th, 2020, 4:10 pm

Well in Lincs and Humberside there has been significant increases in 'fly-tipping' down the back roads.

As soon as lock down was announced all the Lincolnshire 'recycling centres' closed. Only after what seemed like threats from central government were they then opened. The Lincolnshire authority has made a real 'pigs ear' of the re-opening admin and they are now effectively unusable.

I say unusable for the following reasons - to use the tip as far as I can tell you must find an available 15 min slot and book in advance online with your address and vehicle details. The vehicle must be an 'ordinary car' (?). To attend the tip you need proof of identity ( passport, official photo ID?), proof of address (so possibly bank statements x2 no more than three months old?), proof of council tax ( presumably the council tax demand?) plus a printed copy of the appointment confirmation email. No more than 2 people per car and the centre staff no longer help people to unload safely

To add to this all the sessions are now 'themed' (with some overlap) so if I want for instance to take a car battery, some paper and a bag of general waste to the tip I need to book three appointments on three different days. In order to correctly book an appointment a Venn diagram is helpful. Transgression of any of the new 'rules' leads to immediate cancellation of the appointment.

In August when new Covid 19 infections in Lincolnshire are standing at about 1 or 2 a day ( I guess at the limit of test accuracy for false positives) I suggested to my local authority conservative councilor that this regime was probably unworkable - she said it was the 'new normal' and probably permanent (...unprecedented times, yada, yada, yada etc....).

So the outcome (to me easily predictable) is a massive increase in fly-tipping with the local council and the BBC wringing their hands.

dspp
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Re: Litter in the UK

#336266

Postby dspp » August 27th, 2020, 9:17 am

Sobraon wrote:Well in Lincs and Humberside there has been significant increases in 'fly-tipping' down the back roads.

As soon as lock down was announced all the Lincolnshire 'recycling centres' closed. Only after what seemed like threats from central government were they then opened. The Lincolnshire authority has made a real 'pigs ear' of the re-opening admin and they are now effectively unusable.

I say unusable for the following reasons - to use the tip as far as I can tell you must find an available 15 min slot and book in advance online with your address and vehicle details. The vehicle must be an 'ordinary car' (?). To attend the tip you need proof of identity ( passport, official photo ID?), proof of address (so possibly bank statements x2 no more than three months old?), proof of council tax ( presumably the council tax demand?) plus a printed copy of the appointment confirmation email. No more than 2 people per car and the centre staff no longer help people to unload safely

To add to this all the sessions are now 'themed' (with some overlap) so if I want for instance to take a car battery, some paper and a bag of general waste to the tip I need to book three appointments on three different days. In order to correctly book an appointment a Venn diagram is helpful. Transgression of any of the new 'rules' leads to immediate cancellation of the appointment.

In August when new Covid 19 infections in Lincolnshire are standing at about 1 or 2 a day ( I guess at the limit of test accuracy for false positives) I suggested to my local authority conservative councilor that this regime was probably unworkable - she said it was the 'new normal' and probably permanent (...unprecedented times, yada, yada, yada etc....).

So the outcome (to me easily predictable) is a massive increase in fly-tipping with the local council and the BBC wringing their hands.


Clearly my Dorset local authority is enlightened by comparison with Lincs. Turn up, discharge, go. There was a brief pause at height of lockdown, swift reopen with some distancing allowances that don't much affect capacity. Only charges are for hardcore and plasterboard. It can be done.

regards, dspp

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Re: Litter in the UK

#336271

Postby swill453 » August 27th, 2020, 9:25 am

Sobraon wrote:I say unusable for the following reasons - to use the tip as far as I can tell you must find an available 15 min slot and book in advance online with your address and vehicle details. The vehicle must be an 'ordinary car' (?). To attend the tip you need proof of identity ( passport, official photo ID?), proof of address (so possibly bank statements x2 no more than three months old?), proof of council tax ( presumably the council tax demand?) plus a printed copy of the appointment confirmation email.

I don't think it's that bad. Confirmation email plus proof of Lincolnshire address and identity - so simple driving licence should suffice. https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/recycli ... ip-service

Scott.

supremetwo
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Re: Litter in the UK

#336278

Postby supremetwo » August 27th, 2020, 10:06 am

If only the police and local authorities were able to prevent 'traveller' blight.

For a start, lobby MPs to make it a criminal offence (and subject to on-the-spot fines) to just turn up and create mess on land whether publicly or privately owned.

It's what they did in Eire, hence so many more now over here!

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Re: Litter in the UK

#336303

Postby GrandOiseau » August 27th, 2020, 12:13 pm

Few problems being mixed in to one here. A couple of things for discussion:

Making it easy for people to get rid of their waste could exasperate the problem. If I expect there to be a litter bin on every corner/parking area/station platform or for councils to provide free and easy facilities to take my waste then that promotes the mindset of it not being their problem when there isn't one - therefore, I can just dump it where ever with a clear conscience. What is needed is a change of culture/perception. That actually you should take your snack bar wrapper with you until you get home/office/centrally placed bin. Or that you take your old furniture to a place of their convenience not yours. Some may say this is unrealistic but is it realistic to make it super easy for people to get rid of their waste.

And another point is the disposable culture we seem to have developed. There are still people buying drinks in disposable packaging. I would have thought these days everybody had their water/juice bottle and their hot drink mug with them. And people are buying cheap camping gear and dumping it rather than buying something that lasts and taking it home. Disposable BBQ's - what's that all about. Some of it is about not creating litter/waste in the first place.

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Re: Litter in the UK

#336644

Postby Rhyd6 » August 28th, 2020, 4:33 pm

We're lucky enough to live in a beautiful part of the country but the amount of casual litter, as opposed to fly tipping, that has ensued from staycations/picnics/just general driving around to look at a pretty view is horrdendous. There seems to be a group of Brits today who have no concept of removing their detritus or indeed respecting other people's property. A couple of weeks ago two motor homes parked in the car park of our local pub, the publican moved them on and they decided that the entrance to the field where we let people have allotments would make an ideal place to stay overnight. They drove into the field, destroyed two allotments completely and camped overnight leaving a large amount of litter including used nappies just dumped in a heap. Luckily the pub has cameras and we have one at the allotments so were able to give the info to the police. They broke the gate when entering the field so our insurance company were given details of their registration numbers so maybe they'll be hit in the pocket but I'm not holding my breath. I always take a rubber glove and bin bag with me when we walk on our own property, and the amount of litter just casually thrown over hedges fills me with despair. I'm of an age when the golden rule was "leave nothing behind but your thanks". I would hate to live near a popular beach as it must be even worse.

R6


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