l

[rachp]

Well apparently Boris is now on the case, encouraging us to take matters into our own hands....https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/confront-litterbugs-says-boris-johnson-rtq3t992b

[rachp]

Hopefully these comments don?t turn out to be as bad an idea as him gleefully encouraging us all to shake hands with people, shortly before catching COVID

[elloriac]

I work in Kent. Kent CC have gone for the attached approach, saying that it has a greater effect, rather than the negative insults of the NZ poster shown above.

(Don't know if it does, the park close to my office still has obvious litter problems after a sunny weekend.)

There was a discussion about this in one of the local Facebook groups, and there were loads of people saying that we pay our council tax for the council to clean up the parks, and there should be more bins, completely rejecting any suggestion that people should take their rubbish home if the bins are full.

I just don't get it.

[Nigello]

There are a lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people who feel better by "acting out" (eg. retorting about how the council ought to clean up after them because they've paid for this service) even if their actions are ultimately to their detriment. I just accept they will always be with us and not get hung up on it, but still do what I can to tidy up or deter litter.

[malumbu]

The Kent approach is classic nudge. I quite liked the tosser approach but I expect that many wont see the funny side (including the target audience) - I think it is supposed to be humorous rather than negative. But this approach is used in advertising eg mobile envy (you don't want to be seen as the sad person without Kevin Bacon's EE deal).

Interesting article from Beeb about tossers, looks at arguments from both side and according to this the strap line was first used in Australia in 2008 although like 'thong' it may have a different meaning there.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-31699957

Ah it does have the same meaning

https://outbackdictionary.com/tosser/#:~:text=A%20useless%20idiot%3B%20a%20wanker,What%20a%20tosser.

[malumbu]

Still thinking of behaviour change and the fine balance between a message that uses humour to encourage people to be good citizens, vs being interpreted as incendiary, aggressive/passive aggressive. Too many of the posts on this site can be read as passive aggressive, sneery or sarcastic, case in point is the title of this thread which may be intended to be funny in an American style but comes across as negative. I'd have titled it - how do we reduce littering, or maybe 'those that don't litter are simply the best, and better than all the rest'.

Obviously when I am being facetious I am just being funny, not trolling or anything like this. I'm just a soul whose intentions are good, Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

[rachp]

Sounds like classic justification behaviour, I?m going to behave badly and blame it on someone else. Also, total ignorance about how hard it is to deliver everything with LA budgets. I do think the councils should play a part but anyone reasonable can see that if everyone descends on the park on the same day, with their bags full of rubbish, it?s totally unreasonable to expect the council to stay on top of that. Richmond Park had a sign up saying we have 6 full time cleaning staff plus volunteers, but on busy days, we need you to do your bit too. Of course, some people would still take issue with this but most reasonable people would see it as fair enough. Only problem is, I?m not sure how many people are reasonable!

Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I work in Kent. Kent CC have gone for the attached

> approach, saying that it has a greater effect,

> rather than the negative insults of the NZ poster

> shown above.

> (Don't know if it does, the park close to my

> office still has obvious litter problems after a

> sunny weekend.)

>

> There was a discussion about this in one of the

> local Facebook groups, and there were loads of

> people saying that we pay our council tax for the

> council to clean up the parks, and there should be

> more bins, completely rejecting any suggestion

> that people should take their rubbish home if the

> bins are full.

>

> I just don't get it.

[rachp]

Yeah, it makes us feel better to rant but I?m not sure it achieves much in terms of being heard by those with opposing views. A balanced, calm person is much harder to take issue with than a raging, angry, sarcastic one. That said, I did lose my patience with a taxi driver who threw his gloves on my street yesterday, literally seconds after I?d finished cleaning it.

[malumbu]

Yes, and I but all lost my temper with my Aunt's carer who refuses to have the jab, and her neighbour who also cares being vaccine hesitant. It's difficult to debate as the carer in particular had all the answers why the pandemic has all been 'over exaggerated'. Saying in a frustrated and loud voice that well over 130,000 people had died, many preventable, and that she was being selfish, and that I wasn't bothered about her health but those that she could infect, didn't change her mind one bit. Adding that I hate this government, particularly the PM, but that they were right on the mass vac, and hard lockdowns, didn't help either. A bit like debating with some people on this website (oh dear, a bit below the belt)

[PSK]

I lost my temper with a couple of teenage girls walking into Peckham Rye Park today, they walked towards me throwing their litter on the floor and in the bushes and laughing about it. I'm so infuriated to see these youngsters having absolutely no respect for their environment. I would never have dreamt of doing anything like that at their age. Really dreadful, especially as they had just walked past a bin.

[johnie]

johnie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The bins on the Rye are small bins for small

> amounts of rubbish. When we have football matches

> with supporters they are not adequate. I applaud

> the people who try to clean up, but then find they

> can't fit the rubbish in the bin, so leave it

> close. It won't be their rubbish alone. Can't we

> just have a few industrial-sized bins each

> weekend?

>

> However, leaving crap in the park and not even

> bothering to get it close to a bin. My goat is

> got.

Lordy, I'm amazed! There are now big industrial Bins around the park (not massive, but so much better), and so far, it seems to be working. Thank you to whoever arranged it.

[Nigello]

About three months ago I saw overflowing bins in Dulwich Park after one weekend with 15 degree temperatures and sent a picture to the local councillor and parks manager, suggesting bigger bins and/or more frequent emptying. I also said that other parks had this problem, so perhaps they - in the spirit of thinking ahead and extrapolating evidence - at the council decided to put bigger bins in more than just Dulwich Park? (The big bins there did appear a few weeks after the email was sent, so perhaps not!) I asked also for stickers on the bins suggesting people take their rubbish away if the bin was overflowing, but that has not happened.

[heartblock]

Definitely need more bins in the parks. Dulwich and Peckham Rye are such lovely places, we are lucky to have them and I just can't understand why people cannot take rubbish home with them if bins are full, but it would help to have more and for them to be emptied a bit more regularly.

I'm not sure if it just my perception, but when I walk through Brockwell, it does seem to have more park staff working there, always gardeners, people painting and cleaning going on.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Chick Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Maybe send them to a gulag in Siberia.

Too good for them ;-)