Has anyone organised a litter pick up in their area?

[tiggerbabe]

Just thought I would ask the question as I would be interested to find out how successfully it was received, and also what type of area you are from?

I live in quite an urban area, but I have already complained to the local council about an area of parkland opposite my home that was absolutely riddled with rubbish and I was appalled at the total lack of interest that seemed to be being paid to it by the people who lived here? I eventually got it cleared up, although I don't think I was the most popular person in the constituency lets put it that way!

The parkland is only small, but I have seen foxes nightly, a couple of Roe Deer on very lucky occasions and also have seen pheasant and all sorts of other wildlife which is all at risk by the horrific amounts of rubbish being left lying around.

My hope is that I am not alone in how I feel and that others feel the same, and are maybe to shy to come forward and help! I go out with the dog every day and take a carrier bag with me to pick up the cans, discarded crisp packets and carrier bags then put them in the bin at the entrance to the park! Simples!

[Fauna]

Good on you tiggerbabe for taking the initiative to get out there and have a go. I have helped out on many a clean up in my area. Most of it was organised by Keep Wales Tidy/River Care, we get a great response from fishermen/women and schools.

You might want to check out this link, they will also help you to get things organised and supply you with the tools for the job

I hope its still active?
The Big Tidy Up

[PlattHillBadger]

My dad who lives in a small village and has recently retired but keeps active, regularly picks up litter, sometimes on his own as well as organising occasional clean ups involving local people. He has also spent many years planting bushes and trees in what was once a piece of waste ground near the local pub and it now is officially protected as the local wildlife area.

[stebiz]

I often go wombling in the Country. If everybody just picked up a few pieces, the Countryside would be so much better. Don't forget to bring some gloves though!

[Billabong Karen]

I make a point of picking up litter and putting it in the next bin. It's not pleasant to be walking around holding other people's litter, but I look on it as part of my civic duty, and hope that this might encourage others. Though to be honest they mostly just look at me as though I were mad... but occassionally someone will comment positively.

One thing I cannot bring myself to pick up are the discarded plastic bags containing dog poo. That is sooooo disgusting.

[tiggerbabe]

Lol, or even worse, the poo bags which people hang from the branches of hedges or trees as though there is a magic poo fairy descends at night time to take them away

I am now an RSPB volunteer on my local urban nature reserve and I purposely take a bin bag with me every time I visit to pick up the litter, although it should be mentioned that the previous Warden on the reserve managed to appeal to the better nature of a lot of the local teens that went down there to drink to at least leave all their cans/bottles in a bag in the hide rather than throw them into the actual pond

I think it is always going to be a problem wherever we go, we have far more packacing on products now than even 50-60 years ago where you would have found very little discarded rubbish as there just wasn't as much!

Its really up to us as parents and schools I think to educate kids from a very young age of the damage that discarded rubbish causes and maybe we would have a chance!

[Billabong Karen]

It's not just that there is more packaging though, I was in Switzerland for a few days last week and we were commenting on how incredibly clean the countryside was. The people there have pride in their countryside, and are brought up NOT to discard litter. In fact, there are big consequences if you are caught doing so... There is something really wrong with the public consciousness in the UK, how can ANYONE think it is ok to dump plastic bags etc out of a car window, for instance?

I once found a small hedgehog with its head stuck inside an empty yogurt pot. Luckily I found it before it starved to death, but it was quite weak and needed looking after and feeding up for a few days before I could release it back safely into the wild. People just dont realize what they are doing by dumping litter.

[Billabong Karen]

If I were going to organize a litter pick up, I would contact local schools and see if this could become a class project.

[tiggerbabe]

I once found a small hedgehog with its head stuck inside an empty yogurt pot

When I was in primary school (granted, a few years ago now ), we had someone come to the school and give us a talk on wildlife and litter. We were shown mild pictures of animals that had the misfortune of falling victim to our wastefulness - I can distinctly remember being told about discarded cans of juice being attractive to most animals due to the lingering sugar content, they try to lick the juice out and slice their tongues open on the metal ring pull area. They then die a long slow death through starvation

As part of my voluntary work with the RSPB, I was lucky enough to visit 2 city centre primary schools as part of their "Bird Friendly Schools" project and it was glaringly obvious that most kids don't get made aware of this type of problem.

Sometimes I think schools focus too heavily on the environmental problems that we are experiencing on a global level, but aren't really told about things that are happening on our own doorsteps.

[Billabong Karen]

Originally Posted by tiggerbabe

Sometimes I think schools focus too heavily on the environmental problems that we are experiencing on a global level, but aren't really told about things that are happening on our own doorsteps.

That's a very good point. And true.