2 weeks Ago
By the time you get to read this, another Keep Britain Tidy ‘Great British Spring Clean’ campaign will have passed us by for another year, writes Ian Simmons, of Grantham RiverCare . It ended on April 6 having run for three weeks nationwide. While the scores on the doors are not yet in, the pledges the Great British Public made show the enthusiasm and, dare we say it, the necessity of maintaining a laser focus on the problem of littering.
Last year more than 400,000 people took part in the campaign collecting around 450,000 bags of litter. This year we hope to do better. It is estimated by YouGov that some eight million people take part in a clean up at least twice a year.
Slowly, but surely, the realisation that litter-free streets and towns makes a place a better place. The annual KBT campaign will no doubt continue into the future. Founded as part of the WI originally some 70 years ago, their message is just as important today.
Skipping over the irony of us wanting to pick up more litter it assumes there will be more to collect. Our combined efforts every year, from those individuals doing their bit and organised groups such as Grantham RiverCare, continue to erode the huge scale of the issue, but the problem persists. Research suggests dirty streets affect people’s quality of life.
Attending to this will improve the wellbeing of all those involved. Perhaps a more direct investment into identified ‘grot spots’ could have a remarkable benefit for us all? Fly tipping also needs an unglamorous mention. Currently on the hard shoulder of the A14 westbound between Cambridge and Huntingdon are two sofas.
We mention this because they have been there for over a month. Why is this significant? There are a couple of reasons so bear with us. Firstly, they are an eyesore.
Who put them there and why? Secondly, who is going to remove them? Whoever takes on this task, it will, inevitably, cost money. Who pays? We all do eventually. If a local council takes up the challenge, it diverts valuable and scarce resources from a more deserving cause which may - directly or more likely indirectly - affect the taxes we pay.
If we think about littering at every scale, surely a simple cost-benefit analysis should encourage us to finally, once for all, dispose of everything from a small cigarette butt to lounge furniture correctly? Let’s “love where we live”..
