Litter

On the 2nd January 2010 I found myself in the rare position of having a day off and nothing to do. In fact that is not entirely true: there was washing and ironing to do and I could also have been chopping logs. But as the morning broke bright and clear and some three degrees below zero I decide to go for a walk. We had hoped to go for a New Year’s walk with friends that we had partied with the night before but as their time scale appeared to be some three hours behind ours we didn’t go in the end. Jacky had to go to work on the 2nd so I felt justified and deservéd that I should have a little walk. I followed my nose around town taking in the Abbey Stadium, Abbey meadows, river Arrow, Ipsley church, Arrow valley lake and home through Southcrest woods. A distance of some 11 miles (17.7 km)

Now I would like to say that a walk through the English countryside at this time of year is a beautiful and uplifting experience and, on the whole, it is. But the single thing most likely to raise my blood pressure is litter. Believe me, this walk had its fair share! Not only was there litter everywhere I looked (there’s no summer foliage to cover it.) but a good proportion of the litter was drinks’ containers - mostly high alcohol lager and cider - the kind of stuff drunk for effect or because it’s cheap and not for pleasure. Examples: Tennent's Super, which is a 9% ABV lager (30p/100 ml) and Carling Black Label lager (4.1%, 16.2p/100 ml) which, in 2009, the UK sales reached a new record with 4.1 billion pints. Most of which were probably cans and most of the cans are now probably adorning English hedgerows. Other favourites of those wishing to fry their brains in the shortest possible time appears to be Diamond White (A brand of cheap white cider with and alcohol content of 7.5%. 15.7p/100 ml) and Frosty Jack, also 7.5% ABV.

Here on the left is a good example of a winter migrant: The Stella Artois lager can. Nestling under some herb bennet, ivy and bramble the red breast of this less common of the lager species, like the robin, is a sight sure to raise the heart on a winter’s walk in the English countryside. This particular example was nesting many miles from human habitation and is not normally seen outside of captivity.

Right is the more common of the lager family: The Carling. Not nearly as brightly coloured as its close relative the Stella so is harder to spot in the undergrowth, though more abundant. Usually found nesting on shop shelves singing “Cheap, Cheap”. Nearby can be seen some non-related “softies” These are more commonly found around schools and children’s play areas and to see them here is a rather unusual sight indeed.

On the left is a good example of flocking. Many species of litter gather together during the winter period for security from predatory litter pickers. Here they can enjoy cover and safety from litter pickers that may pass close overhead. Numerous species can be seen from lager cans, “softies”, crisp packets (some even venture from the fold, so safe are they.) to the little insignificant cigarette dog ends and Rizlas.

On the left is a very good example of a breeding colony of Tennent’s Super lager cans. (Fostered by a Frosty Jack bottle.) This used to be a rare sight in England but their numbers are steadily increasing with the help of a younger breed of fanciers. Often they are found in dark, inhospitable and remote places. Right is a real case of drinks’ can cruelty! Trussed up in a plastic bag and thrown into a nearby bush. How these cans must have struggled for the freedom of the open field and hedgerow!

It isn’t just drinks’ cans that are striving to free themselves from man’s bondage. Here we have a lone traffic cone (left) trying to swim for freedom in the freezing waters of the the river Arrow. Tired of standing in line this little cone has almost made it!

Sick of being sat on this broken old booster seat (right) has made a bid for freedom but having no legs of its own and strapless the poor thing lies where hurled. Its cold and lifeless body covered in frost.

On a serious note.

What’s to be done about this awful state of affairs? I wish only to concentrate on the litter and what can be done about it or, more to the point, its prevention. The fact that most of the litter is drinks related is another lengthy topic which I shall not go into any more than I already have.

Education is what you would think to be the first line of defence, would you not? We were taught about litter at primary school (early 1970s) and although it was pretty much drummed into us I had first hand experience of a child being told to drop litter by a parent even though I had pointed out it was wrong. Who is this child to believe? Fellow pupil, teachers or mother?

We also have a large army of litter pickers in most urban areas and I wonder if they are inadvertently encouraging other people to drop litter. The pickers are supposed to be there to pick up accidentally dropped litter not that which is dropped deliberately. I believe this is encouraging individuals to accidently on purpose drop litter because they know someone will be following along shortly to pick it up for them.

Fines are good. In some areas of the UK litter has been greatly reduced by the introduction of Litter Wardens issuing fixed penalty fines. We don’t have one in my home town of Redditch. We could do with half a dozen! If introduced they should be salaried and not paid on commission. I would like to be one please! Wardens would soon help to claw back the £500 million per annum spent on clearing up. They don’t just catch those who drop litter but have been very successful in catching fly tippers with smart water.

A more radical idea of mine is to bring back “money back” on returned packaging. All packaging. During the 70s and 80s us lads were always scouring the county side for Corona pop bottles. These could be returned to any Corona shop for a refund of 10p per bottle. A very nice little earner it was too! I think that all packaging should be given a return tariff clearly stated on the side. (Money paid by manufactures to the government and passed on down to the consumer.) This could be related to the size of the packaging and/or to it’s impact on the environment during manufacture. Some would argue that the logistics of this is too great but my employer, Bordon Hill Nurseries Ltd. already recycles trays returned by customers. If a shop is supplied by a lorry (truck US) then it would be better returning to the depot full of returned packaging than empty. The knock on effect is that producers would immediately look at ways of reducing their packaging and those responsible for littering (unless they’re made of money) would feel obliged to get their money back by returning the packaging. All of a sudden there would also be an increase in the number of voluntary litter pickers determined to make a bob or two. (nickel or two US) I experienced a similar kind of thing in Germany where an individual would purchase his drinks in glass bottles from the store, hire a crate and even a sack truck to take the crate of drinks home. Money was given on return of the bottles and, if you wished to stop purchasing drink from that particular shop, money back on the crate and sack truck.

In an ideal world I think that this refund policy should also be extended to the products within the packaging. It’s OK to have a refund policy on the packaging covering a bed mattress but this won’t encourage certain individuals from dumping old mattresses in the countryside.

We have to do something, either that or Jacky and I will have to live on a remote island all by ourselves. (There would still be jetsam litter on the beach though!)

HERE are some of my poems on the subject of litter.

Sunday, 3 January 2010

Updated: Monday, 4 January 2010