Author Bill Bryson reckons litterbugs are wrecking Britain.
Your comments
John
Firstly most of the rubbish is a result of fast food outlets and can be seen throughout Europe. This is an invention comming from Bill's part of the pond.
Secondly why doesn't he set an example by drinking his coffee and eat his muffins in a cafe. Most Europeans do not go round eating breakfast on the hoof.
Thirdly , fly tipping is international sickness and can be found throughout Europe.
Finally why do so many European friends come back to Switzerland, which is very clean indeed, telling me that London is about the cleanest capital they have seen in their travels?
This seems to me to be a case of another programme costing a lot of licence fee payers money using a probably overpaid celebrity.
Terry Courtnadge
Yes, yes! Bill is absolutely right and I'm with him all the way. Often, it takes somebody from outside to see the bad things (and the good! as surely he does).
But all we need is more litter bins ; over 90% of people on this island have a fair degree of civility and various levels of civic pride - they would love to place their crisp packet or drinks can into a recepticle rather than on the ground.
Why oh why can't we see a 'trash can' on the odd lampost or bus stop or on a vacant site at the street corner? Folks would use 'em. Don't lose heart, Bill.
Maureen Mitchell
I live in wiltshire and i am also a parish councillor.
Kennet Council have removed every litter bin in the area their idea is if there are no bins there wont be any rubbish. People will take it home.
The Parish council pay someone to go aroud the village of Netheravon every day to pick up the litter, he can fill upto 4 carrier bags a day.
If the Parish Council want litter bins we have to provide them and also pay to have them emptied.
If they start charging people depending on how much rubbish they put out every fortnight people will just fly tip it
Pat Knights
Our local council is a disgrace, cowboy wheelie bin cleaners who just wash the bins in the street and leave everything behind is a big problem in our area, I have reported them numerous times but the council claim not to have the power to do anything,if they can't do anything about these when they know what areas these people are working ,what chance do we have with other fly tippers who are alot harder to catch.
Nick Fletcher
I agree with Bill. Britain has got a big problem with litter louts. Our towns and cities need cleaning up and the successful campaigns of the seventies seem to have fallen by the wayside. More educating and litter abatements schemes need to be implemented.
Douglas. Norris
Well done Bill Bryson, I am tired of walking on carpets of chewing gum. Solution heavy tax on non-biodegradable gum,
Biodegradable gum, tax free.
It would be cost effective for all official tipping sites to be free, paid for by resultant clean-up of fly tipping savings.
Charlie Neyra
There's a problem with litter, yes, and we should be fined for littering, but why not bring back the stocks too! Public humiliation worked for our forefathers (as did a lot of things we certainly should never bring back). If that's unpalatable, why not step up high profile punishments. Litter one day and the next you're in an orange jumpsuit cleaning the streets. That'll stop the problem.
The next thing to do, and this is crucial for the nation in the long run, is to stop importing so much disposable rubbish, and stop wrapping everything in plastic. A complete re-think is needed in how we import, use and discard. And it's needed soon. Maybe Mr.Bryson should look into that??
mark kevitt
The litter lout should be celebrated not critisized. Society is split into two groups those who care and those who dont. Now the people who dont care i.e the litter lout are an untapped source of revenue and should be seen that way.This is achieved by not leaving it to councils but giving it to free enterprise (bounty hunters) for every hundred pound they collect in in fines they get thirty one pounds of it and the local council get sixty pounds of it thus keeping our rates down.The dont cares soon become the do cares.
john stubbs
i believe bill because the blame is on the council and the goverment there is a lot of litter on our streets it's not just chewing gum but also cigs and everthing else where as in the incerator or where we take our rubbish we are told we can only take enough as in two bags of rubbish and if we got a van we have to go to the council for a form so we wonder why people fly tip so if i was the news of the world i would investigate especialy when an 82 year old and his wife had to go from stoke to burslem just to get rid of there rubbish
Kate Edwards
I have brought all 3 of my children up to never ever litter if they can not find a bin and sometimes the public bins are overflowing they give me there rubbish and I dispose of it when we arrive home. Children need to be educated that what ever mess they make there own children will inherit. Also it is not just children, recently I have seen and old lady throwing the rubbish from her handbag on to the street!!! I think we should all appreciate the wonderful country we live in and look after it more carefully.
palmer
i also agree with Bill but lets not forget the councils part in this they are for ever putting up charges but we see little in return the litter is often left by binmen our local council cuts the grass and normally they pic a wet day to do this and leave all the grass cuttings over the pavents and in the gutters yes the there are signs about dogs useing the pavent but iv not seen a dog warden in years around here iv been asking out local council now for months to clean up all the rubbish that blows on to my garage forcourt food wrapper cans over grown weeds the blocked drain, i pay £50 to the council to rent the garage but all i get is that there not sure what department it comes under if garages road sweeping department or the garden department so i continue to wait why the rubbish builds up,so Bill it works both ways
Nathan
I am pleased Bill Bryson has raised this matter. Nothing infuriates me more than witnessing the blatant ignorance of some people today as they deposit their litter wherever they like without any thought or consideration to our environment.
Only last month I confronted a woman in her mid fifties as she threw down the inner foil and plastic from her cigarette packet in King's Lynn Tuesday Market Place, Norfolk. I bent down and picked up her deposit and handed it back to her voicing 'I think you dropped something'. The expression on her face was enough for me to know she was not only embarrassed but somewhat shocked that someone a lot younger than herself had the gumption to confront her about this despicable behaviour.
Further to this, would it not be a good idea to have those persons claiming benefits for being out of work to walk our cities, town and countrysides picking up litter in return for their handouts? This model certainly works with our European counterparts whose walkways and roadways are spotless in comparision to ours.
We need TV adverts which stipulate the levels of fines along with further education on the impact this rubbish has on our environement and of course wildlife. However, our soft approach over the years has given rise to a generation which largely doesn't care about anyone or anything and thus they remain ignorant of the level of beauty which surrounds them.
Please News of The World, make making Britain a litter free place your plight!
Angela Atherton
I live near a High school and the litter is strewn about everywhere. I think we need to target the kids young and show them what effects littering causes our society i.e. wildlife and polution. We need to be hard on litterbugs with higher fines and a consitency across every council in the UK in implementing the fines.
Helen Large
My street has a particularly bad problem with dog mess, especially outside the primary school a little further up the road. I spent over 2 months nagging Greenwich Council last year to make some sort of effort to tackle this problem. They finally sprayed stencil's on the pavement instructing offenders to clean it up. This worked for about 3 months and the street was much nicer - now the stencils have worn away and the problem is as bad as ever - you can actually smell the faeces when you walk down the street.
William Hanson
I agree with Bill,litter louts make my blood boil,yesterday at a bus stop I saw a young girl (with child accessory) lay down a half eaten bun and drink, 2 yards from a litter bin.When I reminded her of the litter bin all I got was "mind your own fffffing business" Britain's every square yard has been carefully manicured for over 1000 years and is not appreciated.
Comment number: 126747762
Offensive? Report commentFirstly most of the rubbish is a result of fast food outlets and can be seen throughout Europe. This is an invention comming from Bill's part of the pond.
Secondly why doesn't he set an example by drinking his coffee and eat his muffins in a cafe. Most Europeans do not go round eating breakfast on the hoof.
Thirdly , fly tipping is international sickness and can be found throughout Europe.
Finally why do so many European friends come back to Switzerland, which is very clean indeed, telling me that London is about the cleanest capital they have seen in their travels?
This seems to me to be a case of another programme costing a lot of licence fee payers money using a probably overpaid celebrity.
Comment number: 126307426
Offensive? Report commentYes, yes! Bill is absolutely right and I'm with him all the way. Often, it takes somebody from outside to see the bad things (and the good! as surely he does).
But all we need is more litter bins ; over 90% of people on this island have a fair degree of civility and various levels of civic pride - they would love to place their crisp packet or drinks can into a recepticle rather than on the ground.
Why oh why can't we see a 'trash can' on the odd lampost or bus stop or on a vacant site at the street corner? Folks would use 'em. Don't lose heart, Bill.
Comment number: 126119768
Offensive? Report commentI live in wiltshire and i am also a parish councillor.
Kennet Council have removed every litter bin in the area their idea is if there are no bins there wont be any rubbish. People will take it home.
The Parish council pay someone to go aroud the village of Netheravon every day to pick up the litter, he can fill upto 4 carrier bags a day.
If the Parish Council want litter bins we have to provide them and also pay to have them emptied.
If they start charging people depending on how much rubbish they put out every fortnight people will just fly tip it
Comment number: 126043498
Offensive? Report commentOur local council is a disgrace, cowboy wheelie bin cleaners who just wash the bins in the street and leave everything behind is a big problem in our area, I have reported them numerous times but the council claim not to have the power to do anything,if they can't do anything about these when they know what areas these people are working ,what chance do we have with other fly tippers who are alot harder to catch.
Comment number: 126040510
Offensive? Report commentI agree with Bill. Britain has got a big problem with litter louts. Our towns and cities need cleaning up and the successful campaigns of the seventies seem to have fallen by the wayside. More educating and litter abatements schemes need to be implemented.
Comment number: 126036976
Offensive? Report commentWell done Bill Bryson, I am tired of walking on carpets of chewing gum. Solution heavy tax on non-biodegradable gum,
Biodegradable gum, tax free.
It would be cost effective for all official tipping sites to be free, paid for by resultant clean-up of fly tipping savings.
Comment number: 125939858
Offensive? Report commentThere's a problem with litter, yes, and we should be fined for littering, but why not bring back the stocks too! Public humiliation worked for our forefathers (as did a lot of things we certainly should never bring back). If that's unpalatable, why not step up high profile punishments. Litter one day and the next you're in an orange jumpsuit cleaning the streets. That'll stop the problem.
The next thing to do, and this is crucial for the nation in the long run, is to stop importing so much disposable rubbish, and stop wrapping everything in plastic. A complete re-think is needed in how we import, use and discard. And it's needed soon. Maybe Mr.Bryson should look into that??
Comment number: 125935648
Offensive? Report commentThe litter lout should be celebrated not critisized. Society is split into two groups those who care and those who dont. Now the people who dont care i.e the litter lout are an untapped source of revenue and should be seen that way.This is achieved by not leaving it to councils but giving it to free enterprise (bounty hunters) for every hundred pound they collect in in fines they get thirty one pounds of it and the local council get sixty pounds of it thus keeping our rates down.The dont cares soon become the do cares.
Comment number: 125930492
Offensive? Report commenti believe bill because the blame is on the council and the goverment there is a lot of litter on our streets it's not just chewing gum but also cigs and everthing else where as in the incerator or where we take our rubbish we are told we can only take enough as in two bags of rubbish and if we got a van we have to go to the council for a form so we wonder why people fly tip so if i was the news of the world i would investigate especialy when an 82 year old and his wife had to go from stoke to burslem just to get rid of there rubbish
Comment number: 125916684
Offensive? Report commentI have brought all 3 of my children up to never ever litter if they can not find a bin and sometimes the public bins are overflowing they give me there rubbish and I dispose of it when we arrive home. Children need to be educated that what ever mess they make there own children will inherit. Also it is not just children, recently I have seen and old lady throwing the rubbish from her handbag on to the street!!! I think we should all appreciate the wonderful country we live in and look after it more carefully.
Comment number: 125897328
Offensive? Report commenti also agree with Bill but lets not forget the councils part in this they are for ever putting up charges but we see little in return the litter is often left by binmen our local council cuts the grass and normally they pic a wet day to do this and leave all the grass cuttings over the pavents and in the gutters yes the there are signs about dogs useing the pavent but iv not seen a dog warden in years around here iv been asking out local council now for months to clean up all the rubbish that blows on to my garage forcourt food wrapper cans over grown weeds the blocked drain, i pay £50 to the council to rent the garage but all i get is that there not sure what department it comes under if garages road sweeping department or the garden department so i continue to wait why the rubbish builds up,so Bill it works both ways
Comment number: 125895008
Offensive? Report commentI am pleased Bill Bryson has raised this matter. Nothing infuriates me more than witnessing the blatant ignorance of some people today as they deposit their litter wherever they like without any thought or consideration to our environment.
Only last month I confronted a woman in her mid fifties as she threw down the inner foil and plastic from her cigarette packet in King's Lynn Tuesday Market Place, Norfolk. I bent down and picked up her deposit and handed it back to her voicing 'I think you dropped something'. The expression on her face was enough for me to know she was not only embarrassed but somewhat shocked that someone a lot younger than herself had the gumption to confront her about this despicable behaviour.
Further to this, would it not be a good idea to have those persons claiming benefits for being out of work to walk our cities, town and countrysides picking up litter in return for their handouts? This model certainly works with our European counterparts whose walkways and roadways are spotless in comparision to ours.
We need TV adverts which stipulate the levels of fines along with further education on the impact this rubbish has on our environement and of course wildlife. However, our soft approach over the years has given rise to a generation which largely doesn't care about anyone or anything and thus they remain ignorant of the level of beauty which surrounds them.
Please News of The World, make making Britain a litter free place your plight!
Comment number: 125894932
Offensive? Report commentI live near a High school and the litter is strewn about everywhere. I think we need to target the kids young and show them what effects littering causes our society i.e. wildlife and polution. We need to be hard on litterbugs with higher fines and a consitency across every council in the UK in implementing the fines.
Comment number: 125894866
Offensive? Report commentMy street has a particularly bad problem with dog mess, especially outside the primary school a little further up the road. I spent over 2 months nagging Greenwich Council last year to make some sort of effort to tackle this problem. They finally sprayed stencil's on the pavement instructing offenders to clean it up. This worked for about 3 months and the street was much nicer - now the stencils have worn away and the problem is as bad as ever - you can actually smell the faeces when you walk down the street.
Comment number: 125891144
Offensive? Report commentI agree with Bill,litter louts make my blood boil,yesterday at a bus stop I saw a young girl (with child accessory) lay down a half eaten bun and drink, 2 yards from a litter bin.When I reminded her of the litter bin all I got was "mind your own fffffing business" Britain's every square yard has been carefully manicured for over 1000 years and is not appreciated.