This is rubbish.Literally.

There used to be a t shirt slogan which read: why should I tidy my room when the world's in such a mess?

Is this part of the problem or am getting too deep?

As others have said I don't know anyone who would intentionally drop litter or fly tip but there must be a mindset were people, high school kids mostly, who see it as cool or conforming or something.
Or , like the vandals or arsonists who are the extreme, it's some sort of statement of defiance against a society from which they feel excluded?

South Gloucestershire Council have just spent £50,000 clearing the Bristol ring road of litter. They do this every six months. I’m sure other councils are in a similar position. How much tax payer’s money is being spent in this way because so many aren’t behaving in a responsible environmental way?

What I don’t understand is the costs the councils trot out for reasons not to do something. Surely they have a team already employed and that is their job!

There used to be a t shirt slogan which read: why should I tidy my room when the world's in such a mess?
Yes grammaretto I was thinking that perhaps when passengers finish a drink or food they would see no harm in adding just one more item to the rubbish on the verges.

I have just read a rather sad headline in a local paper
Residents fury as Council remove their plants

Apparently a guerilla gardening group have spent 2 years removing litter and planting an area in their village centre only to find it dug up and binned by Council workers
They had an apology but the upshot was that the Council were going to plant that area themselves with plants the local residents wanted in other words the usual bedding plants because council maintenance workers are not taught about pollinators and wild flowers are considered weeds etc.

That's the sort of thing our useless council would do.Like Sheffield cutting down all those beautiful mature trees.So sad.

I asked a secondary school pupil to pick up the sweet wrapper he has deliberately dropped, he told me to f… off. Fortunately his deputy head was behind me and he tackled the pupil. That was quite a few years ago. I don’t understand the mentality of people who can’t dispose of litter correctly, why can’t they?

My little gd aged 6 spent nearly 2 hours recently litter picking in her village as a sponsored event for her primary school. Which reminds me I promised ten quid.

Avalon and Shropshirelass My DGS when aged about 8 (he's 11 now) with a few classmates and support from the staff decided to tackle his school playground.

They made leaflets (I think) and spoke to the other classes who at least at first were very keen and onboard.

However even he was met with some snarls and ridicule from older pupils.
Sad isn't it.

I’ve had an idea, does anyone have any knowledge of non profits?
I need a challenge after a couple of Covid/retired years and champing at the bit to crack on with something. Could I be onto something? Just googled non profit litter and there are some in Europe and America, will research more!

Please do Fiona G.I don't have a business background, ot lots of confidence.But I'd certainly like to become sort of movement to make a change.

The legislation needs to be stronger. Hit the hip pocket. I have to say they don’t have litter monitors in schools here. They don’t need them as no child would risk dropping litter, they’d be on them like a ton of bricks!

We have an alleyway round the back of our house which we use to get into our garage. I have to go round there every so often to pick up take away wrappers, beer cans, bits of paper etc. If you don't people think that is the place to dump your rubbish and it gets worse.

It is depressing Overthehill but you end up doing the clearing because you care

I was saddened to see that my neighbours, a care home, with pristine garden grounds have taken again to throwing their garden rubbish over the wall INTO MY GARDEN
They use professional gardening services who probably charge them a fortune to mow and prune.
I will have to go round and complain.
I don't actually mind their soil coming over but not the plastic bags and beer cans.

Grammaretto

It is depressing Overthehill but you end up doing the clearing because you care

I was saddened to see that my neighbours, a care home, with pristine garden grounds have taken again to throwing their garden rubbish over the wall INTO MY GARDEN
They use professional gardening services who probably charge them a fortune to mow and prune.
I will have to go round and complain.
I don't actually mind their soil coming over but not the plastic bags and beer cans.

My goodness that is deplorable.

Today's haul from a one hour dog walk in the woods.Two carrier bags full.Cans,bottles and crisp packets as usual.Plus cups from the usual -Greggs,McDs and subway.However the idiots driving cars are adults so we can't just blame the young.And it's litter from cars that is choking our roads in the main.Sorry.Just needed another rant !

A few years back one of my security cameras caught one of my neighbours dumping black bags of rubbish onto my lawn. Someone had dumped them on the path behind his house and instead of putting them in the bin (it was bin day) he decided to dump them onto my garden - right underneath one of of the cameras. How dumb can you get?

I posted a notice with several of the thumbnails through his door and giving him 24 house to clean it up before the police were informed. He was out at 6.15 next morning cleaning it up - sort of. Left bits all over the lawn. Next day nephew and big mate made him clean up the rest. Gave him a good fright.

I was recently back in the UK and was sad to see so much rubbish left around beauty spots. If I accidently drop a sweet wrapper, I'll turn around and pick it up, because it was instilled in me as a child that it was wrong to drop litter. Sadly, it seems that no one cares these days, and just think that someone else will pick up after them!

Well better than nothing.DH has been travelling on the M1 today and several gantry signs saying Don't throw litter please use a bin.One can hope !

That is really awful biglouis
I was saying I never see people dropping litter but last night at a bustop on a busy Edinburgh street there was a loud crashing noise which I thought was someone kicking something.
It was pointed out to me that it was a bottle being dropped out of a window from a high flat. Luckily our bustop had a roof! There was broken glass all over the pavement.

Gardez l'eau gardez loo was the cry in early days when the night soil was chucked out of tenement windows so not much has changed.

Nansnet

I was recently back in the UK and was sad to see so much rubbish left around beauty spots. If I accidently drop a sweet wrapper, I'll turn around and pick it up, because it was instilled in me as a child that it was wrong to drop litter. Sadly, it seems that no one cares these days, and just think that someone else will pick up after them!

I think you live in Australia Nansnet? I’m visiting there at the moment and just made some money!
I found a can and a bottle down by the lake, that’s 20cents for me - seems that even paying people to return their rubbish doesn’t work.

People have to pay to dispose of commercial waste so fly tipping happens. If Councils accepted all waste free of charge fly tipping would be reduced. Councils have saved money by vastly cutting down what they accept free of charge but that has had consequences. Littering by ordinary people is a matter of instilling the right ideas on children - a matter for schools and parents. What happened to Keep Britain Tidy? I suppose governments have more pressing problems to worry about nowadays.

I'm pleased to report some large new signs have appeared locally with a message about using a bin and keeping our town tidy.If it only shames a few of the litter louts think twice it is better than nothing.Also agree with the Welsh MP who proposes fast food wrapping should have a registration stamped on it to be able to track some of the litter that thrown from drive through fast food outlets.

Brits are pigs, I'm afraid - the whole island is sinking under rubbish. Scandinavians don't treat their environment like that.

Well our waterways are full of shit literally and no one seems to care.