Litter Pick

[Psamathe]

The underlying issue seems to be that too many people seem to consider it OK to just throw rubbish anywhere.

Having the responsible members of society tidy up after the less considerate does not seem like a sustainable plan to me. Those public spirited people continually trying to make-up for others is no real answer.

So how do we stop the littering "at source"?

I'm sure there is no one answer but e.g. Scotlands can (single use drink container) deposit scheme must be a start - hopefully a reasonable number of people will appreciate throwing out that empty Red Bull can is actually throwing money out of the car window. (I don't understand how it's inflationary when you get your deposit back - unless you throw the can out of a car window when it should be "inflationary" to that individual).

I'd be keen on finding ways to stop the problem from happening rather than requiring others to spend their time making-up for the irresponsible.

Ian

[Mike Sales]

Many years ago a friend and I spent an afternoon collecting deposit paid bottles from the ditches of Glencoe. We made enough for a pint each.

[eileithyia]

We litter pick locally and pick up sometimes when at the top of climbs in mallorca.
Try driving up the A1(M)... it's appauling....
A few years driving down it on a windy day there was sheets of plastic caught on trees and the roadside.... most of it coming off the local farmer's fields.
In the 'good ole days' many items were in paper bags (or chips wrapped in newspaper) paper didn't linger the way all the cans and plastic takeaway items currently do, it rotted down more.
But it's certainly a problem that is getting worse, even in Mallorca, previously fairly clean... the litter seems to be increasing.

[jimlews]

The underlying issue seems to be that too many people seem to consider it OK to just throw rubbish anywhere.

Having the responsible members of society tidy up after the less considerate does not seem like a sustainable plan to me. Those public spirited people continually trying to make-up for others is no real answer.

So how do we stop the littering "at source"?

I'm sure there is no one answer but e.g. Scotland's can (single use drink container) deposit scheme must be a start - hopefully a reasonable number of people will appreciate throwing out that empty Red Bull can is actually throwing money out of the car window. (I don't understand how it's inflationary when you get your deposit back - unless you throw the can out of a car window when it should be "inflationary" to that individual).

I'd be keen on finding ways to stop the problem from happening rather than requiring others to spend their time making-up for the irresponsible.

Ian

A 'start' might be to make litter awareness a compulsory subject in primary schools.
Perhaps even in infant schools.
Impressionable young minds etc.

[joeegg]

Around my way we have large amounts of drive thru' litter on the country roads. The burger drive thru opened a few years ago and talking to a local councillor just afterwards she said it was taking the council 3 times longer to clean up the roads after the opening. In her opinion non of the drive thru's,3 now,should have been given permission to open.
I contacted the outlet about the amount of their rubbish in the country lanes miles out but they replied that their litter picker only does the car park. And queues became that long a main road was blocked and the council had to route it through an industrial estate.

[Jdsk]

I have the hope that some litterers find it harder to drop their refuse on a clean street.

IIRC there was some evidence, including interventional trials! I'll check if there's anything new.

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").

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

...
I'm sure there is no one answer but e.g. Scotlands can (single use drink container) deposit scheme must be a start - hopefully a reasonable number of people will appreciate throwing out that empty Red Bull can is actually throwing money out of the car window. (I don't understand how it's inflationary when you get your deposit back - unless you throw the can out of a car window when it should be "inflationary" to that individual).

I'd be keen on finding ways to stop the problem from happening rather than requiring others to spend their time making-up for the irresponsible.
...

I haven't found a good review of interventions based on materials or responsibilities of shops etc.

Anyone?

Or how other countries and systems do things that seem to help?

Jonathan

[nosmarbaj]

I'm sure there is no one answer but e.g. Scotlands can (single use drink container) deposit scheme must be a start - hopefully a reasonable number of people will appreciate throwing out that empty Red Bull can is actually throwing money out of the car window.

Of course, even if people feel they can afford losing a little cash by tossing a can from a car, there's an incentive for someone else to collect said can and return it to a shop, as Mike Sales said. (Doesn't work on roads where going on foot is impractical or illegal.)
And even a small financial penalty can produce results - witness the reduction in the number of plastic carrier bags blowing around the countryside since the compulsory charge for them was introduced.

[Mike Sales]

IIRC there was some evidence, including interventional trials! I'll check if there's anything new.

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").

Jonathan

Ta. A bit like not cutting your CO2 until the Chinese do?

[mattheus]

We live on the Boxhill circuit and our main problem is discarded gels and the odd inner tube.
The top of the hill has the normal litter near the car park.
I assume the gels are thrown away because they are sticky but they do get us a bad name.

A couple of years ago the 24h TT winner stuffed all his gel wrappers up his shorts leg during the race.

If you can carry it full, you can carry it empty - or take something that you don't find "unpleasantly sticky"

I have never seen a cyclist litter - although the evidence IS out there, so it clearly happens! But motorists are far far worse.

I was shocked when I rode up Alpe D'Huez (10 years ago?) in the height of sportive season. The gel litter was appaling, I mean it was like a riot had happened overnight. I spoke to a frequent rider and he said it was defniitely OK because of the clean-up crews employed by these events. Hmmm.

[Psamathe]

...
I have never seen a cyclist litter - although the evidence IS out there, so it clearly happens! But motorists are far far worse.
...

I'm uncertain. I agree that the litter from motorists is worse but there are a lot more motorists than cyclists. If (daft numbers to illustrate) 90% of the litter is from motorists bit only 80% of vehicles are motorists ...

My experience is that it depends on the road. One local road is bad for gel packs and discarded water bottles but other roads are wet wipes & sweet wrappers (around the primary schools), red bull cans & styrofoam burger boxes (road to/from HGV depot), etc.. So locally the road used by pelotons is bad (must be cyclists) but other roads bad with non-cyclist litter.

Ian

[Mike Sales]

Occasionally on club runs I have found myself picking up litter dropped by a companion!

[mattheus]

...
I have never seen a cyclist litter - although the evidence IS out there, so it clearly happens! But motorists are far far worse.
...

I'm uncertain. I agree that the litter from motorists is worse but there are a lot more motorists than cyclists. If (daft numbers to illustrate) 90% of the litter is from motorists bit only 80% of vehicles are motorists ...

My experience is that it depends on the road. One local road is bad for gel packs and discarded water bottles but other roads are wet wipes & sweet wrappers (around the primary schools), red bull cans & styrofoam burger boxes (road to/from HGV depot), etc.. So locally the road used by pelotons is bad (must be cyclists) but other roads bad with non-cyclist litter.

Ian

Cyclists don't drop burger-boxes, or beer-cans, or fridges, or the 4x5L empty oil-cans I saw on Sunday, neatly lined up, or sofas ....

(but as I said, I don't doubt that some drop smaller food/drink waste items.)

i think per-person, the motorists are doing a lot more harm. I don't have hard evidence, so you're welcome to disagree!

[Psamathe]

...
I have never seen a cyclist litter - although the evidence IS out there, so it clearly happens! But motorists are far far worse.
...

I'm uncertain. I agree that the litter from motorists is worse but there are a lot more motorists than cyclists. If (daft numbers to illustrate) 90% of the litter is from motorists bit only 80% of vehicles are motorists ...

My experience is that it depends on the road. One local road is bad for gel packs and discarded water bottles but other roads are wet wipes & sweet wrappers (around the primary schools), red bull cans & styrofoam burger boxes (road to/from HGV depot), etc.. So locally the road used by pelotons is bad (must be cyclists) but other roads bad with non-cyclist litter.

Ian

...
i think per-person, the motorists are doing a lot more harm. I don't have hard evidence, so you're welcome to disagree!

I would agree but I don't have evidence. One of the challenges is that as with all large groups there are sub-groups that exhibit very different behaviour e.g the pelotons behave very differently (both with regard to littering and consideration of other vehicles) than a lone touring cyclist. "White Van Man" drives very differently from the "School Run" parent from the HGV driver (at least those driving to the local depot near me where on a narrow road they regard 60 as a target).

I wonder if the groups being discussed are too big and encompass so many different sub-groups as to be useful.

I do think it important that the causes of littering be understood as understanding the problem must be important to stopping it.

Ian

[Carlton green]

The underlying issue seems to be that too many people seem to consider it OK to just throw rubbish anywhere.

Having the responsible members of society tidy up after the less considerate does not seem like a sustainable plan to me. Those public spirited people continually trying to make-up for others is no real answer.

So how do we stop the littering "at source"?

I'm sure there is no one answer but e.g. Scotland's can (single use drink container) deposit scheme must be a start - hopefully a reasonable number of people will appreciate throwing out that empty Red Bull can is actually throwing money out of the car window. (I don't understand how it's inflationary when you get your deposit back - unless you throw the can out of a car window when it should be "inflationary" to that individual).

I'd be keen on finding ways to stop the problem from happening rather than requiring others to spend their time making-up for the irresponsible.

Ian

A 'start' might be to make litter awareness a compulsory subject in primary schools.
Perhaps even in infant schools.
Impressionable young minds etc.

Personal and social education is certainly very important.

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 …

The problem of littering has many causes. I think it best to take an overview, so make it easy for people to act responsibly; structure civil life such that people both choose to act responsibly and don’t have given to them items that they will inappropriately discard.