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Post by rowanberry on Jan 28, 2017 10:35:32 GMT
We travelled up the A12 last week on the way to Ipswich, and I was appalled by the amount of rubbish along the roadside. The trees were festooned with long lengths of tattered plastic, and the tins, bottles, and assorted cr*p had to be knee deep in places.  The 'Deer Crossing' signs made me laugh, (in a sarcastic way) because any deer foolish enough to try wading through all that would end up with legs lacerated from all the rusty drink cans and broken glass. Nice then to hear that Coca-Cola are fighting schemes to introduce a bottle return scheme in Scotland... am boycotting them now. Evil greedy capitalistic bast*rds! Sorry- but this makes me SO CROSS!! news.sky.com/story/document-reveals-coca-cola-opposes-bottle-return-scheme-10742502www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4157956/Coca-Cola-plot-kill-bottle-deposits.html |
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Post by ayjay on Jan 28, 2017 17:34:06 GMT
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Post by rowanberry on Jan 29, 2017 19:45:29 GMT
Thanks, Ayjay- that's great, especially if it does some good! Will add my signature, too.
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Post by accipiter on Jan 29, 2017 20:25:57 GMT
We travelled up the A12 last week on the way to Ipswich, and I was appalled by the amount of rubbish along the roadside. The trees were festooned with long lengths of tattered plastic, and the tins, bottles, and assorted cr*p had to be knee deep in places. I quite agree; also know the road / area quite well, all I can say is they clearly have something missing, a lack of morality in short. Alan |
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Post by alf1951 on Jan 31, 2017 8:59:00 GMT
Having recently moved to the outskirts of Carlisle I naively thought we would find less fly tipping - after all there is a large waste and recycling centre near the city centre which takes just about everything imaginable and it's free unless you arrive in a large truck. For a reasonable fee they will even come to your house to remove heavy/bulky stuff and there are a number of charities who will do the same job for nothing if it's stuff they can reuse or upcycle.
In two months the mattress count is up to 3 - the culprits probably drove further with them than if they had gone to the tip just 3 miles away. Then there's the stuff jettisoned from cars coming off the M6 at junction 42 - people must eat and drink an awful lot while travelling at 70mph!
Alf
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Post by Tringa on Feb 3, 2017 10:50:42 GMT
Thanks for the link to the petition Ayjay.
Flytipping and litter in general is a serious problem.
Fly tipping around here has increased dramatically in the last ten years.
The local council are very good at responding to reports of fly tipping and it is cleared away very quickly, sometimes within less than 24 hours.
However, the local recycling centres are now privately run and they are very hot on what you can take to them for free. I took some rubbish to the recycling centre part of which was a few (as in about 6) bricks. I was told I would be charged if I brought bricks again. I don't agree with them but can imagine a number of people are not willing to pay for recycling rubbish, so fly tip it.
General littering is beyond me. I live close to an open area of football pitches, rough grassland, scrub and a few trees. The amount of litter, especially after weekend football matches, is huge. Apart from the fact that some people think it is acceptable to eat or drink and then just drop the container (if you did not know where the football pitches were you could mark them out by following the line of litter) there is ample opportunity for people to put their little in a bin as this area is bordered on two sides by houses all of which have wheelie bins in the front gardens.
Unfortunately, littering is spreading everywhere, even in some rural areas.
Dave
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Post by NellyDee on Feb 3, 2017 14:24:04 GMT
I was alarmed, reading local newspaper, I quote - "The Council will take action to clean up any fly-tipping on Council owned land or on the public road. It is the responsibility of the landowners or occupiers to clean up. The Council will work(and the owners) to establish any evidence."
Alarmed as being near a major route and adjacent to West Highland Way, I shall be responsible for the fly tipping. There was a local scheme where the locals would clear 1 mile either side of their property (after the tourist season), we had to leave the sacks of rubbish collected at certain points along the road and the Council would send out a van to collect them all. They stopped doing this last year. Unfortunately the scheme has folded as - age related mainly, It became too difficult and it was an effort finding someone with a car or van big enough to get all the sacks (upwards of 50) to the local tip which is 40 miles away.
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Post by Tringa on Feb 3, 2017 16:42:43 GMT
The increase in the numbers of people using the countryside is, I think, part of the problem.
The countryside and how it is publicised is attracting, for want of better words, people who do not know how to behave in the countryside. I am all for people getting out and about and using the countryside for all sorts of activities but they should have some understanding. If you drop litter in town (which is bad enough in itself) it is unsightly but is likely to be cleared away fairly soon. In the countryside litter could be there for weeks or months and the availability of very cheap "festival" tents means people buy them, use them and then leave them.
However, it is not that new a problem. In 1993 (I'm sure of the year because it was the year after I broke an ankle) I and a mate went up the Ben with two of our children. The two kids devised a game based on the TV show, "Through the Keyhole" and were asking each other, "Who would drop a piece of litter like this?". There was unfortunately enough litter, even then, to keep them occupied for quite a lot of the walk.
Dave
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foxy
Junior Member
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Post by foxy on Feb 27, 2017 19:26:54 GMT
Dropping litter is a national pastime judging by the amount you see. Just the other day my daughter was visiting during half term, walking through the park (by the lake) she diverted off the path to the lake where she pick up 2 carrier bag from the water's edge & put them in the bin. Twenty yards further on off she goes again followed by the 9 year old granddaughter both returning with more items for the bin.
As a family we have always been careful to take our litter home if there's no bin near but picking up litter left by others isn't something I thought she would do, give them a mouthful while pointing out their wrongdoings YES,killing them maybe, but picking up after them and not even saying a word .......................
I can't understand the mentality of people who go out to the countryside, beach etc. to enjoy themselves only to drop litter which spoils peoples enjoyment of those places.
To add to dropping litter there is the new breed of dog owners that carry dog poop bags so the can poop-scoop only to throw the knotted bag on to the ground or in to the nearest tree. It would be far better not to pick it up in the first place!
Fly-tipping has been bad for a long time but I believe it's only going to get worse due to the councils policy of charging for collection of refuse that doesn't fit in the bin. They say they have to to pay for cleaning up after fly-tippers but is the charge not part of the reason it's getting worse.
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Post by rowanberry on Feb 27, 2017 21:07:50 GMT
Oh, that one REALLY gets me... what sort of person picks up their dog poop and hangs it in a tree?!?! I'm so cross every time I see that. The playing fields behind us are left strewn with rubbish after every weekend, (why don't the coaches do something about that? They should be made to see to it their players pick up after themselves.) And I agree with what Tringa says.... "The increase in the numbers of people using the countryside is, I think, part of the problem. The countryside and how it is publicised is attracting, for want of better words, people who do not know how to behave in the countryside." I remember when we were holidaying in Wales (quite some time ago, now) and stopped alongside a very picturesque spot to enjoy the view. I was horrified at the amount of rubbish that had been chucked over the fence into the pasture by the road with a flock of sheep in it. I crawled through the wire fencing and picked up about a dozen aluminum cans... I come from a farming family myself (although we had cattle- sheep are such daft things!  ) I still can't stand seeing livestock put at risk like that- or some hardworking farmer having to fork out ££££ for a vet bill caused by some selfish townie. I think people should be made to undergo training before being allowed out in the countryside. Or if they are caught littering or flytipping, they ought to be made to clean up that road to Chelmsford!  |
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foxy
Junior Member
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Post by foxy on Feb 28, 2017 0:33:24 GMT
I'm a townie but we spent a lot of our weekends growing up, camping or just out & about. Even as young kids we respected the countryside as our parents taught us to. In those days we used to walk round with a sheath knife hanging from our belt & walk in farmer's fields, if there was a path we walked on it, if not we walked round the edge. Farmers would stop & chat to us as would police (who would complement us on having a 'nice' knife and handing it back. These days we would be arrested lol).
Different times. I still carry those lessons with me and it disgusts me how some people just don't care. The other day while out taking the frog photos a lady on a horse saw the bike and asked me how long I'd be staying there as her horse was terrified of bikes having been chased by 5 people on bike when it was young. I asked if 15 mins was enough time for her to get clear of the track, she said more than enough but I gave her 20 to be on the safe side. I can't believe some of the some people do. I wish councils and/or police would come down hard on litterbugs, fly-tippers and anti-social people in general.
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 1, 2017 20:49:59 GMT
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foxy
Junior Member
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Post by foxy on Mar 1, 2017 21:56:52 GMT
Wild camping has been banned in several areas around Loch Lommond for quite a while now AFAIK. I think they have just extended the area. The last few times I've been to Bolliehope with the dog I've seen over 20 poop bags just thrown on the ground because there's no bin (was one last year if I remember correctly). Our dog kindly waits till we get up there and away from the car before pooping, The wife has to carry the bag round with her till we get back to the car (which then starts to smell till we find a poop bin ) |
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Post by Tringa on Mar 2, 2017 19:57:03 GMT
I agree about the dog poo. If someone can't be bothered to put a bag of poo in a bin then why bother picking up the poo in the first place. As Foxy has said, it would be better not to bag it at all.
I can understand people having a bit of trouble with plastic bags of poo swinging around their fingers during their walk. I found it a bit of a pain but there are solutions. I now have a strong sealed waterproof bag (I bought it from the Bay) I clip to my belt and the poo bags go into it and they are secure until I get to a bin.
I was reading an article by Cameron McNeish on the Walkhighlands site where he was very much against the new wild camping restrictions in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. I can see his point but disagree with him. I don't think the restrictions will spread to other areas and due to the closeness of some parts of Loch Lomond to urban centres and that parts of the shore of Loch Lomond are easily accessible means it will get abused, and therefore I think some form of control is needed. The more, for want of better words, "hard core" wild campers will still be able find somewhere for an overnight stay.
However, it is a great pity that reasonable folks will be resticted because of the actions of a few.
I find it encouraging that in many areas of Scotland(and I hope other areas of the UK) the odd overnight stop by a camper or motorhome causes no problem and is not seen as a problem. Many years ago we stopped at the tourist information in Kyle of Lochalsh asking for a campsite further north. We were told they knew about one sometime ago but were not too sure if it was still operating but then the lady said, "If you have all you need for the night you can stop anywhere you can find that is off the road and safe". Long may this contiue.
Dave
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Post by alf1951 on Nov 6, 2017 17:33:07 GMT
We live in a small village about 1 mile from the outskirts of Carlisle. Our property (built 2 yrs ago) has what I consider to be an odd boundary consisting of a tall hawthorn hedge (the 'official' boundary and home to dozens of house sparrows) with a 6ft high fence of vertical timber slats just inside that. Beyond the hedge a dirt strip serves as parking for residents of the houses opposite and beyond that a fairly busy road. I'd love to dispose of the fence but Mrs A will not hear of it!
We've learnt to live with the odd boundary (mind you, hedge cutting is a trial!) but what constantly irritates is the litter which gradually works it's way through the hedge and under the fence. Purposely, there is space under the fence for the passage of wildlife - mostly hedgehogs and birds. Unfortunately every week there are also plastic bags, bits of paper, drinks cartons/cans etc. This morning's tally included a piece of wood with a small lump of concrete on the end, two unopened charity collection bags, a plastic drinking cup for a baby/toddler, assorted pieces of plastic and paper, a lump of polystyrene and an empty beer bottle.
I'm almost resigned to the litter around J42 of the M6 and the fly tipping on the road to Carlisle but what is it that makes people want to dump rubbish on someone else's property?
Alf
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) I still can't stand seeing livestock put at risk like that- or some hardworking farmer having to fork out ££££ for a vet bill caused by some selfish townie.
