It’s not just the big things; the little things matter, too.
The UK is suffering from a litter epidemic.
- 226 million cigarette butts are discarded in England every year.
- £1 billion – the estimated cost of picking up litter in Britain in 2015.
- 11,212 bottles and cans were collected in 2018’s month-long CPRE Green Clean Campaign.
- 2.25 million pieces of litter are dropped on the streets every day [source: Symphony Environmental].
- 180,000+ sacks of litter are cleared from motorways and major A-roads each year by Highways England [now National Highways].
- £2.3 million is spend by Network Rail annually to clear fly tipping from its land.
Litter statistics source: Countryfile Magazine 11Dec2019
Laws exist to help keep our country clean but they are either flouted or not enforced on a massive scale – as recent scenes at beauty spots across the UK only served to prove. InYourArea, a UK local news platform, has joined forces with the national behavioural change organisation Clean Up Britain to push for changes they believe will force littering to be taken far more seriously.
They are calling upon the government to increase the fixed penalty notices for littering in the UK to £1,000, or 100 hours supervised community litter picking, and for the government to make it compulsory that every local authority in Britain has to enforce the law. They have a petition to urge those responsible not to ‘Trash Our Future’ – I’ve just signed it; the total number of signatories stands at 62,485. Can you make it 62,486?
If you live in the UK and, like me, care about our country and are appalled by litter louts turning it into a rubbish tip, can I ask that you please consider signing the petition too? You will need to register on the site in order to sign, but that’s a small price to pay, no? (You could use Firefox Relay to hide your email address from them, and block their emails if they became too ‘spammy’ for your taste – more to come on that in a future wibblette!)
Wibble 
Would sign it if I could. Litter is a clear symptom of selfishness. Huge problem here in the states too. Especially cigarette butts. Those smokers don’t think litter laws apply to them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
YES lots of untidy Brits…. It’s one of my own pet Dis-likes as often I go walking to see rubbish in the hedgerow or dog poop in a bag that has been slung in a tree… Tell me what responsible dog walker does that?
Fly tipping in the country side another bug bare….
So agree…. and off to sign your petition <3
LikeLiked by 1 person
62519 signatures to date… :-)
LikeLike
Yikes, those stats are depressing!
LikeLike
I hope littering laws are better enforced in the UK than here in the USA. What’s the point of having such a law if people can litter with impunity? I realize that the police can’t be everywhere, and witnessing littering is just ‘my word against their’s’ even if I can identify the letterer — which is seldom the case. A massive public awareness and education campaign might help, but let’s face it: toothless laws aren’t the answer.
LikeLike
I just don’t know how adults can be so irresponsible…
LikeLike