I know in Europe the countries are tidy with very little litter,But have you noticed in the UK.?

Question

That after gales every fence,tree,and hedgerow is festooned with assorted rubbish but most of all plastic carrier bags is it time to ban them and have them cleared away,Ah the joys of the British countryside TIP.

Answer 1

I am not at all certain to which European country you refer I have travelled extensively in Europe and number of those are in a much worse state than we are in, -for bulk rubbish-, what I think we have the edge on them with for rubbish is the disgusting habit of throwing used chewing gum on the ground, our northern town is completely littered with this abomination,

Manufacturers should be made to make a product bio de gradable so that it does not, create a mess.

Answer 2

I think the only cure is for litter wardens to give on the spot fines to litter louts. Most people are too lazy to find a litter bin and just throw their litter on the floor. I think also teaching our children from an early age not to spoil the environment is a good place to start.

Answer 3

Sorry I would have to disagree. I live in central Europe. Just outside my front door people tip mattresses, carpets, fridges you name it. It's disgraceful. People are the same the world over.

Answer 4

i went to bulgaria and it was spotless - but thats only because they hired gypsies for 1 lev an hour to continiuosly clean up

Answer 5

YOU MUST BE LIVING IN A DREAM BECAUSE IM IN EUROPE AND THERE IS TRASH EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

Answer 6

look at all the people on the dole etc, get them off their ar**S and get them to do a bit for their  benefits.

Answer 7

always the same here I always notice that when your in the continent its always clean and bins are clean and when there festivals are on none of the bin men get holidays and they hire more people just to keep there city's tidy just like here?????think not have a lovely evening

Answer 8

Well, I've been living in Cyprus for a while now, but while i was visiting family in the U.K. over Christmas.....I noticed that everywhere seemed much worse on 'recycling' days!!

It seemed to me that the dustmen didn't care if they dropped anything, and after they had gone, there seemed to be more rubbish, i.e plastic bottles, cans etc left lying around in the gutters and gardens. I thought its was really sad!! Shouldn't the dustmen be made to clear up the litter that they drop themselves? Whats the point in trying to recycle when the dustmen don't bother to collect the stuff properly.

Its so sad....Britain could be such a lovely place if it was litter free.

Answer 9

What bugs my american, now living in Italy brother in law is the way the british talk about Europe as though we are not in it.

Yes, but what is really bugging me is building sites where the insulation wool goes blowing around. That is really slack, it's nasty stuff.

Answer 10

I hate it, too. It's been a fact for years and years. I wish we could solve it

Answer 11

Let me tell you I went to Antwerp a few years and there was more rubbish on the streets than I've ever seen in the UK

Answer 12

Never been abroad in my life.

Answer 13

Which place in Europe are you saying is tidy than we are, we pay fines for dropping it, in spain there was not just a little litter on the streets there was alot. We have trees all around us and there is none not even a plastic bag.

Answer 14

The U.S. has lots of litter too. I was in Europe about 15 years ago and remember the lack of litter in Germany. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I have also visited Thailand twice. The first time Bangkok was full of litter and the second time it was clean. Locals told me that the government had enacted an anti litter law with big fines for any littering. You couldn't even dump water on the road without risking a big fine. It seems to have worked, since all the litter was gone.

Answer 15

I wish our government would apply the same level of harshness to litter louts as they do to people who park in the 'wrong' place !

Answer 16

You have a point, although this problem is not particular to the UK. It is strange, however, that biodegradeable plastics are not legally required as standard, as the technology to priduce them has been around for a while now. I suppose that this all points to the underlying fact that we are still living in a petroleum-dependent economy.

But don't lose heart; if we do our "'bit" and encourage others to do likewise, that windswept debris will one day be a thing  of the past. We can but hope.

Answer 17

What Europe are you talking about? Certainly not the one near England and Turkey.

Answer 18

ye its true thats why issue £50 fines for litter louts................amazing thing is peoples general attitude is there doing nothing wrong as most see it as the norm............

Answer 19

only been to Brussels on the continent.Seemed fine as an American.I have been across the south of England and across to Welsh county side. Only London and Bath had noticeable trash, outside of bins.But you should see our highways when the snow melts. For weeks, until the labor force cleans it it is terrible. The plastic stays around too long.

Answer 20

It always seems to blow a gale on our recycling day and people by me still put their newspapers on the top of their recycling box with nothing to weigh them down.

Result - newspapers all over the street.