The uk is a throwaway society?

[gbb]

No sense of responsibility, no sense of pride, no sense of shame. Until we start Instilling it in our kids, it will only get worse.
I see it BTW, trash litters the sides of the roads, the paths, the bushes, its everywhere, I think lots of people have stopped even seeing it
I walk past our primary school play park, littered with rubbish, so obviously the school isn't bothered, it's like everything in life now....its someone else's problem.

30 years ago (ish) I was walking the dog past a house a few door up the street, picking up odd bits of litter as went. The tenant's at the door and said....dunno why you're bothering, it'll be the same tomorrow. I replied ....and I'll do the same again tomorrow.

I'm still doing it 30 years later. Its a losing battle....but I'll still do it, every work day,walking the dog.

We've spent the last 30 or 40 years slowly abdicating or shirking personal responsibility, its no surprise its come to this....and worse.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Because householders pay these cowboys who offer reduced rates compared to regulated licensed recyclers. They cannot be admitted to to council recycling centres due I believe to the size of their vehicles so they have pay which would reduce their profit so just dump it on a quiet country road for free.

Not only that. We have to show proof of address to use our local tip.

 

[figbat]

Trade waste disposal requires a licence and payment at the disposal site. Hence the fly-tipping by unlicenced [expletive]s.

 

[Juan Kog]

The thread has given me an excuse to post this photo. Part of a much larger fly tip.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The thread has given me an excuse to post this photo. Part of a much larger fly tip.

View attachment 673660

He looks sad, maybe you could adopt him?

 

[multitool]

Britain is the dirty man of Western Europe. Germany had domestic recycling decades before we did. See also water cleanliness, ULEZ, and house insulation.

 

[Juan Kog]

He looks sad, maybe you could adopt him?

In a lane near Luton Hoo, I’ll leave the adoption to you.

 

[Psamathe]

....
I walk past our primary school play park, littered with rubbish, so obviously the school isn't bothered, it's like everything in life now....its someone else's problem.

30 years ago (ish) I was walking the dog past a house a few door up the street, picking up odd bits of litter as went. The tenant's at the door and said....dunno why you're bothering, it'll be the same tomorrow. I replied ....and I'll do the same again tomorrow.
...

Around once a week I used to go out for a walk taking a load of old single use plastic bags and a grab thing I got on Amazon for the purpose of picking up litter along the lanes. I used to fill a load of bags and then stop at a house and ask to put bags in their bin so I could continue and pick-up more. I gave-up when after a few miles I had 5 bags of fairly heavy litter (crammed full) and walking through road with lots on bungalows and when I asked if I could put rubbish in their bins - I only got "no". By the time I got home my shoulders were really painful - so I thought that it costs people nothing for a few bags in their already massive wheely bins yet they would not even allow me to throw rubbish in their bins. Realised picking-up litter is a mugs game.

When doing it (litter picking) passing cars would slow and give me a thumbs-up, etc. but and normally people are fine with agreeing to a few bags in their bins but one street and all no's made me question why I should put myself out for less than no cooperation from others.

And it does reappear - lorry depot I mentioned before - one Sun afternoon I litter picked depot to main road. Cycled there Mon afternoon (next day) and it was already bad with litter.

Ian

 

[Ming the Merciless]

In a lane near Luton Hoo, I’ll leave the adoption to you.

Escaped from Whipsnade?

 

[presta]

I thought this was going to be a thread about consumerism.

Back in the '90s I was walking the Tissington Trail one bank holiday, a disused railway with car parks and access points at each of the stations, you could tell when you were approaching a station, and how far the average motorist can be bothered to walk by the appearance and disappearance of litter as you passed the stations. It left me thinking that the countryside is a bit like the contents of a ladies underwear: the easier the access the less respect it commands, if you can't be othered to part your arse from a car seat why would you be bothered taking litter home.

local authority charges for disposing of waste

That charge needs shifting from disposal to the point of sale. If the cost is felt when the products that are going to be dumped are manufactured and sold it's a disincentive to produce/buy them instead of a disincentive to dispose of them legally.

why not just take the rubbish to the local recycling centre where i am its free?

It's only free for private individuals, contractors pay.

They cannot be admitted to to council recycling centres due I believe to the size of their vehicles

Waste disposal contractors need a licence, if you don't have one you won't get into the site.

It's illegal to hire an unlicenced contractor, and if you do, you're liable, not just the contractor.

 

[rualexander]

Scotland starts a bottle and cans deposit return scheme later this year ,delayed a couple of years from when it was supposed to start.
Interesting to see if it makes any difference to that category of litter.

30 years ago in Canada I met a couple cycle touring who were paying for their campground fees by collecting cans on the road and returning them for the deposit.

 

[gbb]

There are two distinct problems. One is littering - that's just because a lot of Brits are contemptible scumbags. Can't really get away from that fact.

The other is flytipping. This is related partly to Brits being scumbags but also - I think - to local authority charges for disposing of waste, and in turn local authority funding and political stuff.

But mainly it's Brits being scumbags

Its also aconsequence of a very diverse but not very community minded society. There's no expectation, no one really knows anyone any more, no sense of belonging, no sense of pride, no common expectation. HMOs often owned by foreign companies or individuals have a high turnover of tenants here, as they move out, any leftover furniture, mattresses etc, miraculously appears in the street, always under the cover of darkness. Often its suspected it the landlords or their agents doing it.
Its also recognised by our local councillors when dealing with this kind of fly tipping, in some countries, this is what you do, you take your stuff and put it by the road. They dont see it as wrong.
To blame it 'on the Brits' is a bit short sighted IMO. We are now a very diverse country, it brings positives...and negatives. Theyre not all upright, law abiding, decent people , just like some Brits.
Councils don't help. I've personally reported fly tipping where addressed mail is evident...theyre not interested unless you actually saw them do it. Too easy to ignore, brush under the carpet,like everyone nowadays, just get through the day with the minimum of fuss, don't stick your head above the parapet.
They also continually change the rules, making it difficult for residents.
Years ago, you could put black bags out BY the bins, they'd take it. Then they said you have to place it on the bin, then it changed to the lid MUST be closed, so effectively they reduced the amount people could get in the bin, now they won't take anything thats not in a bin.
So the upshot is, stuff gets strewn up the streets,the council have to send another team out to clean it up....doubling the cost.
Its a very complex problem....but it shouldn't be.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Scotland starts a bottle and cans deposit return scheme later this year

Back to the 70s.

 

[sheddy]

UK needs a deposit scheme on tins, bottles & plastic.
We were promised one but tories keep kicking the can down the road
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-scheme-for-most-of-uk-until-2024-at-earliest

What is the situation in Scotland ?

 

[BoldonLad]

Loads of rubbish in lanes around me. But you can broadly identify the sources.e.g. outside the school it's all wet wipes and chocolate bar wrappers neatly folded and tied in a knot (parents arrive 30 mins early to park in prime place), road to articulated lorry depot it's burger boxes and Red Bull cans (only started happening when depot opened). Another read it's only chocolate drinking yogurt bottles (must be one person to/from work snack and discard out of window). etc.

Ian

Sounds like you live in a very clean area (by UK standards), most of the roads/paths in our area have a much more varied collection of pizza boxes, McD containers, Covid masks, drinks cans, plastic bottles, shopping trolleys, even the occasional fridge or freezer.