Litter!!

[philip walker]

I've just got home after walking the dog on Peckham Rye, litter everywhere, I went home, picked up a bin bag, back to the park and picked some up, but there was junk everywhere, people obviously enjoying the sun, and leaving their sh*t behind. Grrr! Really spoils it for anyone who wants to use the park today.

*moan*

[Nero]

Good for you! Hopefully J Barber will see this and think about getting the counci's litter pickers out there in greater force on sunny days and/or installing more bins, employing enforcers to ticket those who drop and leave their rubbish behind.

[PeckhamRose]

The litter enforcers could definitely pay for their own wages through fining people. Such a shame though.

I remember Huggers, I think it was, posting a photo of the mess everyone left at the end of the Glastonbury festival.

Frightening!

[James Barber]

Hi Nero,

I'll ask the parks service what can be done.

[Sue]

I've been to two world music festivals this weekend, one in Victoria Park in Bethnal Green and one in the park next to the Horniman, and at both, they had people going round all afternoon litterpicking.

Though it's sad that they had to - why do people think they can just leave their litter for others to pick up?

[James Barber]

The Irish festival finished at 8pm last night. It was a condition of the licence and grant funding that site be cleared of litter by 1pm today.

Not sure why it should take so long and why with light evening much could'nt have been achieved last night. I'll ask and this might inlfuence next years event.

Previous years lots of noise complaints but no one mentioning litter. No noise complaints this year but litter. Litter better than noise as at least litter confined to the site.

[toomuchchocolate]

Hi James,

THey stopped at 7 no need to complain about the noise from the fair. The only noise i found annoying was all the idiots honking their car horns because they weren't able to leave the park in an instant, but i guess there's not much can be done about that.

Will the South American festival be back on the Rye this year? I love that one - fantastic atmosphere.

[JW]

Right, I have to vent...

Location: 37 bus, Herne Hill to LL this evening.

I got on the bus and sat next to a man in his 60s eating a Happy Meal. When he finished he placed the rubbish on the floor. We both went to get off the bus at LL so I said in a very polite tone, "excuse me sir, I think you've left something behind." He nearly ran back to his seat to check, when he saw what I was talking about he said "no that's not mine." I said "but I've just seen you eat it?" His response, "no, no, no." A few people were listening and I was beginning to feel really self-conscious, but I kept on, "there's a bin at the bus stop?" To which all he could respond was "no" and he got off the bus. I picked up his litter and put it in the bin at the bus stop myself.

When did it become acceptable to behave in this way? By this I mean his behaviour not mine, I was jolly polite throughout!

And breathe... okay I'm now over it (nearly...)

Thanks for listening!

[werdna101]

I think you did the right thing!

[Champers]

Sadly, this is the society we live in. It doesn't make it right, its horrible but well done for trying to get the guy to do something - I'm not sure I would have had the guts to say anything as I'm a big softie.

[DJKillaQueen]

I would have asked him if his house had litter all over the floor too and if he was one of those people regularly featured in 'A Life of Grime'.

[civilservant]

young woman on Tube, breakfasting on can of fizz and choccie bar, finishes, sticks can and wrapper on seat, and gets up to leave

me (politely) - aren't you taking that with you?

YW (full of scorn) - I'm not a cleaner! (flounces off)

me (picking up rubbish to dispose of properly at my stop) - [sigh]

They're everywhere!

[Sue]

On the other hand .... we bought some sandwiches the other day, ate them on the bus, took the wrappers with us off the bus, and couldn't find a litter bin anywhere - had to carry the wrappers around with us for ages.

So I could sort of understand why some people might have been tempted just to chuck them in the gutter.

[reetpetite]

Eating on public transport should be banned (particularly take aways) only then will our buses and trains be food litter free.

[meadow408]

I agree with Sue; I'm all for chucking my own rubbish in a bin but as Sue sometimes I had to carry it all the way back home as it's true that in London bins are a very rare thing! it might be for bomb's prevention or similar but a few more litter bins outside stations or at bus stops can be handy!

But despite that I always think that the litter bins ppl do an amazing job since stations and parks are quite clean in this country!

[Champers]

I think its a disgrace when people cannot take their own litter and put it in a bin. I understand the points above about not a lot of bins around sometimes when you need one but like good citizens you have kept hold of it until you find a bin. I think thats the difference between people who care and those who don't - you clearly do care. Personally, I believe we should all take responsibility and leaving litter in public places is disrespectful, lazy and inconsiderate.

[DulwichFox]

Be carefull putting litter in street bins.

This guy was fined ?50.00 for putting 2 bits of junk mail in a street bin.

Putting someone elses trash in a street bin 'might' land you in trouble.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2006/03/10/fined-for-putting-his-litter-in-a-bin-115875-16796257/

[Manda]

I was at the Bellenden Big Lunch and a kid came over to me and said "have you got a pen and paper?" I looked around for quite a while, found him some and a pen and handed it over (he was about 15 and with a mate of the same age). He didn't say please or thanks, took the paper tore it in two, threw a piece on the ground and wrote a mobile no. on the other half, in full view of me. I thought about this and decided I had to say something. When he handed the pen back to me, I said "Did you throw that on the floor?" and pointed to the piece he'd thrown, at which point he sullenly said "NO!" so I leaned towards him, looked him in the eye and said very clearly "Yes you did, I saw you", he then mumbled something, bent down, reluctantly picked up the paper and chucked it in the recycling bin next to me.

I bet he hated me but I'm glad I did it. Not sure if it was silly to take a stand but my instinct took over. What a disrespectful little sod! My mum would have hit the roof if I'd ever behaved like that.

[SteveT]

We are sadly lacking mum's like your's Manda,

and mine who would have dished out pain and misery in double quick time for such obnoxious behaviour.

[DJKillaQueen]

I once saw a guy drop litter not more than three feet form a bin (close to where I live). I said to him, 'there's a bin there' and he replied 'you put it in there then'. What can any of us do? These people really do not care.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Bit of a non-story that one about the guy being fined tho isn?t it?

His response ?I could have thrown them on the ground!? could easily have been ?I could have put them on my dashboard until I got to work/read them or whatever? ? he sounds a knob

The official was being a jobsworth for sure but I bet there is more to the story than we read here ? my money is on the guy being abusive to the official so the official thought ?fair enough, I know how to make things hard for you?

[JW]

Yeah well done to civilservant and Manda, between the three of us we will shame those litterbugs into using bins, or continue to fail miserably and end up binning their rubbish ourselves!

[citizenED]

Turned up at the Horniman Triangle sandpit on Monday morning to find the place a complete mess. Lots of litter particularly around one overflowing bin (even though there were other bins that were not full). It had obviously been a busy Sunday up there. After finding a spot for my little ones I walked round the sandpit and picked up most the litter I saw and put it in a bin. At that point a cleaning team from Lewisham entered the site and cleared the rest of the litter. They were quick and efficient.

[GinaG3]

I'm teaching toddler not to throw rubbish. If she eats something in her pushchair she will sometimes pass me the empty or sometimes decides to chuck it. I always pick everything up she drops as I don't want her to be living in a litter bin which is exactly what it will be when she grows up and the days of using bins ended decades ago.

I must admit, I felt useless the other day when she threw some litter and it blew through Alleyn's fence. If I could of reached, I would of. Either that or I sent her under the fence like a cat to collect it. I guess not though!

And, I HATElitter on buses. I don't want to be moving other people half eaten macdonalds or spat out chips just to sit down. I shouldn't have to. I agree you shouldn't be able to eat on buses. You cannot drink alcohol any more. And fast food on buses stink, especially on a hot day. YUCK!

[zeban]

I completely agree, I think it's a disgrace when people litter,and I ended up picking some up that had been left on Peckham Rye common- was shocked to see so much had been left when there was a bin but a mere metre away. Also, I put a newspaper I was finished with on the seat next to me on the bus as I often pick up newspapers that way and thought someone else might want to read it. The person who sat next to me picked it up and threw it straight onto the floor. So I told them that it shouldn't be put on the floor because other people might want to read it. I picked it up and slipped it next to me instead. I was so annoyed at the blatant nonchalance shown for throwing things on the floor.GRRRRRRR!