Litter

[James9118]

Tracy and I walked to the local co-op this afternoon to pick up some supplies after our weekend away with the BFCC. On the way back we ended up following a group of teenagers who came out of the same shop. Within 150 metres they were jettisoning various packaging without a care in the world. They turned down the path by the river, our usual short cut home, but I couldn't stand to walk behind them anymore so I took the long way round. I hate to think what the river bank is going to be like tomorrow after a scorching hot bank holiday weekend. There's no hope.

[Paul Arden]

Hi James,

I cannot understand why anyone would do this. It baffles me. I think packaging needs to change. Make it more easily reusable, like glass bottles once were and stick a high deposit on the price (£1). If it’s wrapping paper it should be degradable. Put high fines on people who litter with community service time.

As I’ve travelled some places are very clean. Singapore for example…

The maximum fine for each littering act is $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second conviction and $10,000 for the third or subsequent conviction. The court may also issue a Corrective Work Order in addition to any court fines meted out.4 Feb 2021

Parts of Canada and Australia are relatively clean – the states where they pay deposits. Cycling across Australia I noticed a huge difference between states with deposits on bottles compared to those who didn’t.

So it can be fixed. Education doesn’t appear to work as well as the carrot and the stick.

Cheers, Paul

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/si ... a-14793342

[Carol]

There is a general lack of respect for the environment. The problem is a lack of good parenting from early on. Your child litters so you make them pick it up plus two other pieces of trash (then sanitize their hands if needed). And teach your child to proudly say "Because it's the right thing to do." Maybe as adults, they will do the right thing, but at least they will know better.
But where you can't legislate values, you can legislate behavior to some degree without infringing upon "freedom." So big fines for littering makes sense because it doesn't infringe upon your freedom, but gives you incentive to do what your parents didn't teach you.

[NOTANGLEWALLISDAVE]

Hi there , i am a water bailiff on a large fishing club, lakes and rivers , believe me the anglers leave a lot too , i always carry a large bin liner in my game bag , but sometimes i wonder why i do it . There is a lack of respect i am afraid, if people do not respect themselves they wont any one else . Anyway that's me having a moan, all the best , David.

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

There is some relatively good news here in Florida!

Starting this year, anyone older than a small child who releases a balloon into the sky gets fined. Children make mistakes, but adults releasing balloons just to watch them float up and away without a thought of the balloon eventually landing somewhere, was going to get me put in jail for assault.

Plastic balloons that end up in the water are commonly consumed by sea turtles who mistake them for jellyfish. Those turtles eventually starve and die long agonizing deaths. What really, really pissed me off were the metallic Mylar balloons left to drift out over the Everglades! You could paddle for days and be in the most remote location, and look up and see a Mylar balloons entangled in the branches.

Mylar is not biodegradable. It will take hundreds of years for a deliberately released Mylar balloon to degrade.

The fine is only $150 for "littering". Unfortunately, the repercussions for assault are significantly greater... but I think my idea would be a better deterrent.

[Paul Arden]

It’s always interesting at the end of the week when a guest on the boat realises how much rubbish we have created. Most people don’t realise but it’s one large bin bag per week per person. Times that by 52 and dump it all in the lake and we would spend all my time catching empty beer cans.

I think we should all be forced to go shopping with our own reusable packaging. Want eggs? Bring to container!

Cheers, Paul

[rusty]

Bending birch,

—-The environment can be an incredibly powerful medium, everything from a carbon footprint to the power of conservation minded beliefs. As I am able to toss a fly fishing chest pack in the wash simply because of its recycled material content.
I’m fairly sure there are a number of businesses out there that have a 1% policy.
As for what to actually do with the environment it’s completely up to the individual or, something like that…
It also makes an excellent tool for speaking of the world around us in comparison to over-the-shoulder politics and other forms of reflection?

Biodiversity:
Diversity of plant and animal life; esp. as represented by the number of extant species.
(biodiversity, Oxford English Dictionary)

[rusty]

…When there is room to speak?