Plastic rubbish - how can we stop this

I stopped at a picnic area at a beauty spot close to our house on Sunday evening. It had been a goreously warm sunny day so the "trippers" had been out in force. The ground was covered in rubbish some of it the kind of thing that is so dangerous to wildlife - cans and bottles, bags and worst of all, the plasic rings that hold 4-packs of cans together. These can become tangled round legs and neck and lead to death or amputation of limbs. There was a campaign to raise awareness of the danges these things pose some years ago and I think it is time to start another one. Can we all do what we can

  1. Tell everyone you know what awful things plastic can do when discarded carelessly.
  2. Ask local councillors and candidates for the local elections how they plan to address this problem.
  3. Pick up every dangerous bit of litter you see - carry a recycled plastic bag with you when walking!
  4. When you put YOUR 4pack rings in the bin, take a minute to break the rings open so that even on landfill sites there is no danger of them harming animals. 

Small things but even if you save one life it is worth it! Let's do it!

Jenni

God gave us two ears and one mouth for a very good reason!

  • Anonymous
    0 Anonymous 11/04/2011 16:55

    I couldn't agree more Jenni!!

    I litter pick along my local stretch of canal for the village Environmental Group.

    I have to say the two main culprits are fishermen and the fly tippers (I just report the latter - bag not big enough for that!!)

    Litter- droppers make my blood boil !!!!!

    Thanks for the good advice, Jenni

    Pipit

  • Hi Jenni

    I agree with you.

    If I can't find a bin then I always take all of my rubbish home with me. However, the Countryside is depressing when you see all of the rubbish that people carelessly leave lying around.

    Basically, some people care and some don't. You won't be able to get through to the latter no matter what you do.

    Best wishes Chris

    Click Here to see my photos

  • Hi Jenni

    I'm always picking up litter- it can get quite depressing. What really gets to me are the people who pick up their dog dirt in a plastic bag  and then throw it in the hedgerows when no one is looking.

    My local paper recently had a poll asking if people pick up litter in the street and 60% said -yes. All I can say is that the other 40% don't half make some mess.

    CJ

     

  • Thanks CJ, Those statistics are hard to believe! Pity the poll didn't ask whether they ever tell porkies!

    God gave us two ears and one mouth for a very good reason!

  • Hi Pipit,

     Yes! Fishermen are fond of saying how much they respect and love wildlife.............!!

    Jenni

    God gave us two ears and one mouth for a very good reason!

  • cjbeady said:
    What really gets to me are the people who pick up their dog dirt in a plastic bag  and then throw it in the hedgerows when no one is looking.

    I saw someone doing that last year, and asked them why. They told me that rather than carry it, they were leaving it there ready to pick up on their way back!!  Can you believe that? Needless to say they were shamed into taking it away with them.

     

    Cheers, Linda.

    See my photos on Flickr

  • Anonymous
    0 Anonymous 12/04/2011 01:47 in reply to Sparrow

    Susan H said:

    What really gets to me are the people who pick up their dog dirt in a plastic bag  and then throw it in the hedgerows when no one is looking.

    I saw someone doing that last year, and asked them why. They told me that rather than carry it, they were leaving it there ready to pick up on their way back!!  Can you believe that? Needless to say they were shamed into taking it away with them.

     

    [/quote]

    Actually, Sparrow, they were probably telling the truth.

    As you may remember, I have challenged this behaviour before and was told that, rather than carry a smelly parcel with them on the walk, they bag it, leave it and pick it up on the way back to put in the doggie bin.

    I used to pick up all these 'bags' and bin them but when I just monitored it, sure enough, they were gone an hour later.

    I don't think they would bother to bag it if they intended to leave it there permanently.

    I know I will be wrong for some people, of course.

    Pipit

     

     

  • Susan H said:

    What really gets to me are the people who pick up their dog dirt in a plastic bag  and then throw it in the hedgerows when no one is looking.

    I saw someone doing that last year, and asked them why. They told me that rather than carry it, they were leaving it there ready to pick up on their way back!!  Can you believe that? Needless to say they were shamed into taking it away with them.

     

    [/quote]I've been known to offer bags to 'dirty' dog owners, that usually shames them and the schoolmarm in me has ordered people to pick up their rubbish, their dog's dirt. Himself thinks I'll get my head bashed in one of these days. I not only pick up litter I find on my dog walks, I pick up other people's dog dirt if I have enough bags with me. I fished a television out of our stream the other day and a paint can on the same day. That part of the streams flows through a little stretch of woodland. I get so upset and angry but as Woodpecker says, some people care, others don't and our chances of getting through to the 'don'ts' are slender. The only answer is to start with the young and encourage schools, youth clubs, toddlers groups to show the young people and children just how ugly and dangerous rubbish is. We should also lobby drinks manufacturers to elbow those ruddy plastic can holders!

     

  • I do remember that Pipit - but your patch may not be so well endowed with dog poop bins as ours. They are every 100 yards or so, so there is no excuse to leave it behind. I think they bag it up because they realise it is a nasty thing to tread in, but then think a bag is OK to dump.

    Being dog walkers ourselves, and having been to many different counties in the last few years, we notice some councils don't provide any specific dog poo bins, whereas others like ours provide loads.

    In some counties there is a distinct lack of any sort of rubbish bin away from the town centres - even in picnic areas and car parks.

    Cheers, Linda.

    See my photos on Flickr

  • Anonymous
    0 Anonymous 12/04/2011 02:06 in reply to Sparrow

    Fair point Sparrow.

    We only have one bin for miles and I think that's why they leave them for the return journey.

    Rubbish and dog poo really riles me up, but I was defending our local doggy walkers using knowledge and experience. It's obviously different 'round your way'. Sorry to doubt you xxx

    Pip