Litter Pick

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Psamathe
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Psamathe »

Carlton green wrote: 20 Apr 2023, 12:07pm ...
My local recycling centre has other stuff dumped in it and sometimes I come across fly tipping on roadsides. Here my local tip is about 12 miles away, they can be fussy about what they take and you have to book a slot to use them. Making it hard for people to act responsibly inevitably means that some will give up trying …
...
My local recycling centre (Council subcontracted to private company) charges for you to take stuff there (at least they did last time I tried to use it). So what do people do, drive further using more petrol to get to the recycling centre or drive a shorter distance and use a local ditch?

What annoyed me about the charge last time I visited the council/sub-contracted recycling centre was that I was taking a load of wood offcuts which is recycled. My free alternative would be to put them in my home domestic black waste bin where they'd end-up in landfill (but it would be free for me!).

Madness and shortsightedness causing more problems.

Ian
Jdsk
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Jdsk »

Mike Sales wrote: 20 Apr 2023, 9:54am
Jdsk wrote: 17 Apr 2023, 8:57am
Mike Sales wrote: 16 Apr 2023, 6:16pm Thanks. I would love it if that is a real effect.
Here's the best recent unpaywalled review that I've found so far:

Zero Waste Scotland: "Rapid Evidence Review of Littering Behaviour and Anti-Litter Policies":
https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/si ... licies.pdf

On this specific point:

Yes, existing litter does make others more likely to litter (the authors categorise this under "social norms").

Visible cleaning services also cause increase ("someone else's responsibility to keep the space clean").
Ta. A bit like not cutting your CO2 until the Chinese do?
That's an interesting comparison. It hadn't occurred to me, and will occupy me on my next walk.

: - )

Jonathan
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Mick F
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Mick F »

It's been discussed here for a while.
I counted 28 Stella cans once - just between two points less than half a mile apart - and recently counted over 40.

viewtopic.php?p=1725371#p1725371
Mick F. Cornwall
pwa
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by pwa »

Here in the Bridgend area of South Wales I have been dismayed, over the winter, by the density of litter alongside some busy roads. I know we see it more in winter, with less foliage to hide it, but I'm sure it has never been this bad before. Maybe there has been a cut in council litter picking with the ongoing financial squeeze.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by al_yrpal »

My top observation....Red Bull tins. Personally I would put a 25p a tin tax on each can of Red Bull to pay for clearing them up.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
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Mick F
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Mick F »

On my ride today, mainly in Cornwall, I was on VERY minor lanes and in small hamlets.
It wasn't until I came over into England and then joined the main A390, that I saw litter, and mainly cans.

I'm not saying that litter is an "english" problem, but it is localised and is on main roads. I reckon it's chucked out of the passing cars rather than dropped by pedestrians.
Mick F. Cornwall
eileithyia
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by eileithyia »

pwa wrote: 20 Apr 2023, 5:14pm Here in the Bridgend area of South Wales I have been dismayed, over the winter, by the density of litter alongside some busy roads. I know we see it more in winter, with less foliage to hide it, but I'm sure it has never been this bad before. Maybe there has been a cut in council litter picking with the ongoing financial squeeze.
Definite cut in council cleaning, I can't remember when we last saw a road sweeper down my street, and we are regularly clearing the detritus left by last autumn's leaf drop, and that's without all the local litter picks we do... I've even heard that they are selling off some of the road sweepers.
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mattheus
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by mattheus »

Mick F wrote: 20 Apr 2023, 6:50pm On my ride today, mainly in Cornwall, I was on VERY minor lanes and in small hamlets.
It wasn't until I came over into England and then joined the main A390, that I saw litter, and mainly cans.

I'm not saying that litter is an "english" problem, but it is localised and is on main roads. I reckon it's chucked out of the passing cars rather than dropped by pedestrians.
Next time I travel from England to some small Cornish hamlet, I shall make sure to bring all my English litter with me.

Make England tidy, one bag at a time!
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Mick F
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Mick F »

:lol: :lol:

The issue - as I see it - is that car drivers and passengers buy stuff and when eaten/drank, they chuck it out of the window. It's a young person's thing. We oldies wouldn't even consider chucking stuff out of a car window.

The cans I see are on the left of the A390 heading east leaving Cornwall and climbing out of the valley.
Come the other way, there's little of it.
Is it a Cornish-shop-bought problem with passengers chucking cans out on their way back to England?

Dunno, but it gives me something to think about (and count) as I'm climbing the seemingly endless hill.

Google Streetview doesn't do it justice.
Have a play and see what I'm getting at.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.52706 ... 384!8i8192
Mick F. Cornwall
mattheus
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by mattheus »

Mick F wrote: 21 Apr 2023, 3:19pm The issue - as I see it - is that car drivers and passengers buy stuff and when eaten/drank, they chuck it out of the window. It's a young person's thing. We oldies wouldn't even consider chucking stuff out of a car window.

The cans I see are on the left of the A390 heading east leaving Cornwall and climbing out of the valley.
Come the other way, there's little of it.
Is it a Cornish-shop-bought problem with passengers chucking cans out on their way back to England?
Wow, you've done some research there ... does Cornwall not have younger drivers? They're all English?

And Cornish young drivers heading into England - how do you know they don't chuck their drinks cans?
Jdsk
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Jdsk »

Mick F wrote: 21 Apr 2023, 3:19pm ...
It's a young person's thing. We oldies wouldn't even consider chucking stuff out of a car window.
...
From the Scottish review of what's known and what isn't:

Who litters and how much?
The evidence both in the UK and internationally suggests that everyone, or almost everyone, admits to having littered at some point, with the majority of people littering at least occasionally. However, there is wide variation between individuals in the frequency and extent of their littering behaviour and the types of objects they litter. While some groups are more likely to litter than others, there is no evidence that a particular ‘littering demographic’ exists – i.e. no specific group can be identified as being responsible for the majority of litter. However, the evidence does suggest that there are some factors which are linked with slightly higher predispositions to littering. These are:
• Age – younger people litter slightly more than older people, and are more willing to admit to littering;
• Gender – men drop slightly more litter than women do, and are also more willing to admit to littering; and
• Smoking – not only are smoking-related items littered more frequently than most other litter items, but smokers also tend to litter more in general, compared to non-smokers.

The relationship between socio-economic factors and littering behaviour, however, is not considered in the reviewed literature in sufficient depth to draw conclusions about the influence of socio-economic group.


Jonathan
pwa
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by pwa »

mattheus wrote: 21 Apr 2023, 4:07pm
Mick F wrote: 21 Apr 2023, 3:19pm The issue - as I see it - is that car drivers and passengers buy stuff and when eaten/drank, they chuck it out of the window. It's a young person's thing. We oldies wouldn't even consider chucking stuff out of a car window.

The cans I see are on the left of the A390 heading east leaving Cornwall and climbing out of the valley.
Come the other way, there's little of it.
Is it a Cornish-shop-bought problem with passengers chucking cans out on their way back to England?
Wow, you've done some research there ... does Cornwall not have younger drivers? They're all English?

And Cornish young drivers heading into England - how do you know they don't chuck their drinks cans?
Don't encourage him. It's all England! Has been for about as long as there has been an England. It's as English as Yorkshire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England
Last edited by pwa on 21 Apr 2023, 8:49pm, edited 1 time in total.
thirdcrank
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by thirdcrank »

"Comers-in" are often the keenest "natives."
Ron
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Ron »

Mick F wrote: 21 Apr 2023, 3:19pmThe cans I see are on the left of the A390 heading east leaving Cornwall and climbing out of the valley.
Come the other way, there's little of it.
Is it a Cornish-shop-bought problem with passengers chucking cans out on their way back to England?
I believe the uneven distribution of empties can be due to the prevailing winds as most of the empties are on the downwind road verges.
I have 'adopted ' certain routes or roads in my locality and go out with an old pair of panniers and usually fill both each time I'm out on a litter pick.
One litter source that particularly annoys my is crash debris. Three vehicles have gone off road near my home and eventually a recovery vehicle hauls them out of the trees and on to a trailer for disposal. However anything not still attached to the crashed vehicle, mirrors, headlamps, misc plastic and electronic components including the inscribed 'Don't enter this area' Police tape is left there for evermore.
My completely unscientific research into the roadside litter problem leaves me in no doubt that the UK has the worst problems of any country in Europe for roadside litter.
The introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland mentioned above, has unfortunately been delayed following opposition by a faction in the drinks trade.
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Mick F
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Re: Litter Pick

Post by Mick F »

If it's due to prevailing winds, the cans must have rolled across the road from one side to the other.
I've been up that hill riding and driving for years, and I've never seen a can in the middle of the road.
Mick F. Cornwall
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