Mary's Blog

Wandsworth Youth cleaning up an East Belfast car park

What is it with people that just spout rubbish while listening to the sound of their own voice? As a rule, I just listen politely.

And what is it with people that drop rubbish on the street? Should I apply the same rule? Be polite and say nothing? Surely it should be possible to say: “Would you mind picking that up?”

When walking behind some youths the other day, I was tempted to reprimand them for deliberately dropping food wrappers. I didn’t because I feared they might take offence. Instead, I picked it up and put it in a bin. Coward! How times have changed. There was a time when elders were respected.

Is there a difference between the passiveness in the face of someone talking rubbish and someone dropping rubbish?

We need to motivate our youth to invest in their future, by caring for the environment today, like these teenagers in East Belfast. Caring for the environment is not just the domain of ecologists and politicians – it is the domain of every citizen, however young or old.

Read Full Post »

It’s not just dogs is it, I mean creating a mess?

Together a colleague and I spent an entire hour picking up litter in just one leafy Anlaby lane today. In that hour we collected enough litter to fill two large green bins – for Council collection from our own bins of course! The bin will need a thorough cleanse afterwards; it was full of detritus, but mostly beer cans, bottles, plastic wrappers and occasional condom packets. The mind boggles! It was our litter ‘pick-nic‘.

And I was wondering what had happened to the snails in the wintertime… now I know, a dozen or so were stuck to plastic food wrappers in the hedgerow. I gave them their freedom!

50 cans on park bench

A dog walker reported to me that in Anlaby House grounds a pile of 50 or so beer cans had been dumped next to a seat bequeathed by a widow in memory of her late husband… How thoughtful! Did someone just dump them there or was there a shindig and high revelry in the light of the moon behind the rhododendron bushes?

Fortunately the Council department have now organised the collection and a close watch will be instituted in future.

We humans are responsible for mess everywhere. It’s true we are the “throw-away-society“. People just throw litter anywhere, as long as its not in their own “patch”. It is “an ill bird that fouls its own hole” – as they say. What is happening to our civic values?

Phantom Litter Man

Phantom Litter Man

And those who are economic with the truth have a lot to answer for too. Where is the organisation to inform and organise such a litter ‘pick-nic‘? The Council refuse workers probably do not own a budget to litter pick on a regular basis; it needs to be regular because the muck is in every hedgerow where there is passing traffic and footpath walkers. Why don’t people just take it home? Sounds like a job for Hessle’s Phantom Litter Man! If only we all took a leaf out of his book – the roads, paths and countryside would be so much cleaner.

I suppose it has to be left to the good natured public volunteers, just like ourselves (and Phantom Litter Man) to go out and make Anlaby hedgerows and pathways look clean and tidy. My colleague spent an hour on his own last week collecting.

Pass through traffic

Who is responsible for all this rubbish? It is more often than not pass through traffic; most is slung from vehicles, or tossed aside by passers-by. They don’t seem to give a hoot.

Small consolation

At least I feel as though I have done something worthwhile in the neighbourhood today. My colleague and I have promised an hour litter ‘pick-nicking‘ from time to time just to keep on top of the problem in our neighbourhood.

Swiss study

Eyes provoke public-spirited people to spend more time clearing litter

There are of course other good folk who litter pick in neighbouring communities. A newly published paper authored by two swiss “eco-ethologists” at the University of Neuchatel studied human behaviour in response to litter signs. It shows that public-spirited people will spend more time clearing litter if the person on the sign is accompanied with eyes. The study is careful to point out that the eyes do not increase the proportion of people who clear away litter, but rather the time invested by those who do. It’s a simple but effective measure akin to etching flies on urinals that may help keep our streets cleaner.

Read Full Post »