Roadside litter everywhere..

[goosebump]

i was in zurich for the new year, buy a can you you pay an extra frank
get a second can you hand back 1st at end of night you give back can and token you received earlier, and you get ur frank back

I was in Zurich in 2008 for the Euro Championships match between France and Italy. There were about 100k in the city centre on the night of the match, and the following morning at 8am, the streets were gleaming. It was frankly miraculous.

[goosebump]

The IBAL campaign has gone some way towards cleaning up the towns. They should do it for counties. The counties with the filthiest roadsides should be named and shamed.

The best thing that can happen to any town is for them to be named at the worst town in the IBAL league.

It wakes everybody up to the problem and they're spotless within 2 years.

[seabhcan]

We are a filthy nation...

We're also a windy nation, and a lot of the litter problem could be solved by fitting a clip mechanism to the lids of wheelybins. More frequently emptying of street bins would be helpful also.

[toxic avenger]

We're also a windy nation, and a lot of the litter problem could be solved by fitting a clip mechanism to the lids of wheelybins. More frequently emptying of street bins would be helpful also.

Also, if we all face westwards and blow very hard, it might stop the wind altogether...

[seabhcan]

Also, if we all face westwards and blow very hard, it might stop the wind altogether...

I was being serious. A gust of wind once knocked over every wheely bin on our street. The place was instantly turned into a dump - rubbish flying everywhere. A lot of it was never picked up because it had already blown away onto other streets.

[birthday]

One of the biggest problems is the Litter Monitoring Service.

They are supposed to analysis the problem and suggest solutions.

However, in every report they every produce, they claim that cigarette butts are the biggest problem, presumably because the sub reports they analyse and based on urban areas.

This means that all our litter cleaning resources go into cigarette butt removal, even though cigarette butts are probably the least offensive form or litter, and are biodegradable.

There are other problems.

We have more service stations, we have more people eating in cars, we have more packaging, we have more people living in rural areas.

It only takes a minority of people to create a serious litter problem, and that's what we have.

One idea that should be brought forward immediately is that any driver caught littering a road should be given 2 penalty points.

Good idea on the penalty points!

[Twin Towers]

We're also a windy nation, and a lot of the litter problem could be solved by fitting a clip mechanism to the lids of wheelybins.

Overflowing green bins that can't be closed is a significant part of the litter problem. The only solution to plastic bottles and drinks cans is a refund scheme though that may be a nightmare to operate.

[toxic avenger]

I was being serious. A gust of wind once knocked over every wheely bin on our street. The place was instantly turned into a dump - rubbish flying everywhere. A lot of it was never picked up because it had already blown away onto other streets.

I'm being fripperous. It's a good idea, my bin lid is always blowing open when it is full (though everything's bagged so it's okay). I'm often having to pick up rubbish blown into my lovely back garden, usually wrappers and bags...

[darkhorse]

Is not all packaging biodegradable these days?
so all will dissappear in time
sorted

[ibis]

Drove through several counties (Kildare, Laois, Kilkenny,Tipperary, Waterford) at the weekend and could not believe the amount of roadside litter. I realise that vegetation is at a minimum around now but the mile after mile presence of plastic drink bottles, milk cartons, and tins discarded in hedges at the edge of so many roads was a sight to behold. This must leave a great impression on visitors to our troubled isle.
What was surprising is that nearly all this stuff can be recycled for free!
So what is the excuse for just dumping recyclable household rubbish at the side of the road?
Should the penalties for this type of behaviour be looked at again?
Perhaps if convicted offenders were required to spend 10-20 Saturdays of the year picking up such material in their locality whilst wearing fluorescent orange suits, they might think again before re-offending?

I like that idea...I like it quite a lot.