Years of fighting mounting rubbish piles

I AGREE with Mark Taylor on roadside rubbish (Letters, July 6). Escaping from Victoria 18 years ago to settle in clean and green Tasmania, I soon realised I’d been hoodwinked by the hype — the extent of roadside litter meant I was living in a rural rubbish dump. While residents of New Norfolk (my supply town) diligently put out rubbish and recycle bins, it takes two residents to admirably patrol the streets collecting rubbish to keep the town reasonably clean and tidy.

This tidiness evaporates on nearby rural access roads. In an 18-year career of driving around the state, I’ve found little difference on rural roads. I’ve come to the conclusion there is an ignorant subspecies of Tasmanians who neither knows nor cares what to do with rubbish.

My distress is shared as membership of my local Tidy Town Committee attests. We engage in clean-ups and strategize with authorities on how to tackle the problem. We’re amazed at the recyclable containers and packaging thrown from vehicles and gobsmacked that Tasmania still hasn’t implemented a container deposit system. Despite years of effort, piles of litter continue to mount. I believe most Tasmanians prize what brought me here as a schoolboy over and over before the big resettlement: a dazzling green environment of yesteryear.

Personally, aside from endlessly filling rubbish bags wherever I drive, I’ve decided to boycott takeaway businesses that provide the bulk of plastic and metal containers. My partner asks shop assistants to raise recycling at their staff meetings. Readers, roll on with your ideas. Graham McLean

Glenfern