Litter: ever thought what it costs?
A day out in the country, a trip to the local park, or a visit to the beach - sat enjoying the surroundings you finish your picnic and pack up all the rubbish into a bag. Now you could take it home with you or just leave it by the path for one of the rubbish collection teams to pick up the next morning.
Almost everybody would agree that the first option is preferable but unfortunately that consensus isn't always translated into action. And it's not just about the unpleasant sight of that rubbish spoiling someone else's picnic scene. How many people have ever stopped to think how much it costs to clean up that waste, how much time it takes - and perhaps most pertinently at this time of cutbacks and budget squeezes, what this money could otherwise be spent on?
It costs a staggering £885 million a year to clean up the rubbish on our streets, in our parks, around the places where we live, work and play. That's £885million of your money, which could be better spent on other things.
We all need to accept that litter is everyone's responsibility. When you buy a can of drink or a packet of crisps it becomes your responsibility. You don't rent the can until you've finished with it. You have bought it and it is down to you to dispose of it correctly - to find a bin or take it home with you.
It costs a staggering £885 million a year to clean up the rubbish on our streets, in our parks, around the places where we live, work and play. That's £885million of your money, which could be better spent on other things.
We all need to accept that litter is everyone's responsibility. When you buy a can of drink or a packet of crisps it becomes your responsibility. You don't rent the can until you've finished with it. You have bought it and it is down to you to dispose of it correctly - to find a bin or take it home with you.
To highlight the scale of the litter problem in this country, and the cost involved in cleaning it up, Keep Britain Tidy joined forces with The Royal Parks to conduct an experiment in Hyde Park to see what would happen if the cleansing teams simply did not turn up.
For 48 hours over a weekend, the north east corner of Hyde Park was not cleaned in order to see how much litter was left by visitors to the park - and the results were astounding. Volunteers and the cleansing contractors arrived at Hyde Park early Monday morning to be greeted by rubbish strewn across the experiment area and piled up around the railings - cigarette butts, remains of food, empty packaging, bottles, and even used nappies. After two hours, the team had collected 109 bin bags of rubbish, weighing over half a tonne. A shocking insight into our littering habits.
It can be difficult to show people in a meaningful way just how their behaviour impacts on their environment. This was a very clear and simple way of drawing attention to a problem that does not need to exist if everyone takes a small amount of responsibility for their own behaviour and loves where they live, work and play.
Next year, this country, and London in particular, will be seen by a global TV audience of billions when the capital plays host to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. People from across the world will be descending on the city. If we want them to form a good impression of our country, we cannot rely on others to clear up our mess. We have to take responsibility for our own waste and dispose of our litter properly.
Quite simply we all have the power to reduce the £885 million cost of clearing up our streets - at no cost to ourselves. Use the bins which are out there or take your rubbish home with you.
Love Where You Live, a campaign launched this year by Keep Britain Tidy, businesses, government and voluntary groups, is about inspiring people to get back that feeling of pride in our country.
From the very small action of people simply taking responsibility for their own litter and using a bin, through to businesses, manufacturers and councils making it easy for people to do the right thing, every one of us can make a difference to clean up our streets and restore pride to our local areas. It's time we all started showing that we love where we live.
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