Broken glass

[Mark1978]

We all know that broken glass is *everywhere* especially on off road cycle routes which seem to be cleaned on a once a decade basis.

Where does all this glass come from? Are there people walking along smashing bottles every 5 metres as they walk?

[meic]

Is it cleaned away, or does it just get crushed and weathered out of existence in ten years time?

Everybody has to have a hobby and for some people smashing bottles holds a particular delight and they are forced to hide this habit in the dark corners that nobody else wants or goes. Which by coincidence is where the highway planners think cyclists should be as well.

[Audax67]

Did a ride in the Midi years ago where the edges of the cycle track seemed be lined with green gravel. The occasional bottle-cap gave the game away.

[rjb]

Some bright spark in the Somerset highways dept decided to dispose of recycled glass by mixing it with tarmac and spreading it on the roads. It had a nice sparkly appearance when first laid and this was on a road designated as a cycle route. Come the winter frosts the surface broke up leaving shards of glass everywhere. This was a fairy hazard to cyclists who gave up using the road but also had the locals up in arms as well especially dog walkers and horse riders. It took a couple of years before the council resurfaced it again.

[reohn2]

Where does all this glass come from? Are there people walking along smashing bottles every 5 metres as they walk?

In a word yes they do.

There's a sure fire way to stop it instantly along with disgarded plastic bottles and cans.
People of a certain age can remember collecting pop bottles and returning them for their refund value,as kid I'd have walked a mile for a pop bottle refund (the good old days eh! )
That return refund should be £1 on every bottle,can and food carton,plastic carrier bags should also cost £1 too IMHO
Problem solved,countryside clean(er)

[sirmy]

Lambrini bottles seem to be able to break into enough pieces to make two bottles

[Vorpal]

When I've seen broken glass in Essex, I've submitted a request to the local authority, and it has normally been swept up within a day or two. I have to admit that I didn't ride regularly in any places where it was habitually there.

[Mark1978]

Thing is it isn't in a specific place. It's everywhere.

[Geriatrix]

There's a sure fire way to stop it instantly along with disgarded plastic bottles and cans.
People of a certain age can remember collecting pop bottles and returning them for their refund value,as kid I'd have walked a mile for a pop bottle refund (the good old days eh! )
That return refund should be £1 on every bottle,can and food carton,plastic carrier bags should also cost £1 too IMHO
Problem solved,countryside clean(er)

Spot on!
I kept the local sweetshop and my dentist in business from empties. Even the local greengrocer would give a few pence for a pile of old newspapers.

[tykeboy2003]

There's a sure fire way to stop it instantly along with disgarded plastic bottles and cans.
People of a certain age can remember collecting pop bottles and returning them for their refund value,as kid I'd have walked a mile for a pop bottle refund

When I was a student in Newcastle (74-78) me and a couple of mates went to a party and as it was near the end of term, money was tight so we hung on to our "Broon" bottles for the 5p deposit. We then noticed that the house was strewn with bottles and all being from Yorkshire where we know the value of money we started collecting them. One of the lads had an old mini traveler (estate) so not having drunk much, he ran back to his place and came back with the car. We proceeded to tour round the "toon" in search of parties and even went into the city centre where loads of people were queueing all night outside Virgin Records for Led Zeppelin tickets. By now it had become a game and we ended up with the back of the car completely full of bottles. The unfortunate landlord at the pub we took the bottles to was a bit taken aback but paid up in good grace. I can't remember how much we got but it certainly paid for another 3 or 4 nights out (a pint being about 15p at the time).

[Big T]

We all know that broken glass is *everywhere* especially on off road cycle routes which seem to be cleaned on a once a decade basis.

Where does all this glass come from? Are there people walking along smashing bottles every 5 metres as they walk?

I think it's more bottles being thrown from cars, especially on routes next to or near rural/trunk roads. I once spent an afternoon sweeping a local cyclepath as it was so bad. A week later it was just as bad as it had been before, so I've never bothered since.

If I ever win the lottery, I'll buy one of those little street cleaning machines and spend my time sweeping the local cycle routes .

[Mark1978]

Is there a lack of broken glass on roads because the wind from passing vehicles pushes it to the side of the road, or is it because roads are cleaned?

[Mike Sales]

Is there a lack of broken glass on roads because the wind from passing vehicles pushes it to the side of the road, or is it because roads are cleaned?

I think that the tyres brush it to the sides.
On one converted railway track I know there are extensive fields of broken glass under all the road bridges. The children of the villages just love dropping bottles onto the cycle path. We used to carry our bikes for some distance to avoid punctures.

[jezer]

I have been cycling around rural France for the last few days. I have yet to see any litter, let alone broken glass. It is only a British problem?

[Rob Archer]

A worrying tendency I've noticed over the past couple of years is that a lot of the patches of broken glass are finely broken into fairly regularly-sized bits and evenly spread across the cycleway. When a bottle is thrown down it rarely breaks so evenly. (not that I've ever done it deliberately!) I had an informal conversation about it with a local police officer friend the other day and initially he said I was paranoid. He had another look at the worst patches and agrees with me that it looks deliberate. I've noticed it in King's Lynn (where I live) and in Harlow, where I visit fairly regularly.

Is it me, or does anyone else out there think this may be more than just 'mindless' vandalism?