I’m doing my bit to tackle rubbish, are you?
I’ve been greatly encouraged by the campaign against litter and fly-tipping, which is highlighting this catastrophe in our country (Mail). Why do people treat this beautiful place as a rubbish bin? every day, I walk with my bag and old gloves and clean up the area where I live. It makes a real difference, and I hope the campaign can do the same nationally. Last year, I visited Sweden, where you take your bottles and cans to a machine that exchanges your litter for cash. It’s so simple and sensible: why on earth are our Government and drinks companies so slow to implement such an obviously excellent scheme? Meanwhile, restricted hours at recycling centres and limits on who can use them simply discourage responsible people and encourage fly-tipping. It must make more sense to pay someone to man these centres than to pay people to clear up fly-tipped rubbish. I’ve written to the bbC suggesting a Clean Up britain or Green Rose Day, with programming ideas for shows on this theme, including a remake of The Wombles to highlight the problems that litter causes. As a society, we need to become more responsible when disposing of waste, and a carrot-andstick approach is essential. We should get rewards for proper disposal of waste and severe punishments for irresponsible behaviour. Containers given out at drive-through takeaways should have the car registration number written on them so they can be traced if they’re disposed of improperly. Fast-food restaurants should have litter taxes put on takeaways to fund wardens to clear up streets and roadsides. Residents could be encouraged to use the American Adopt a Road scheme, where they take responsibility for tidying their street and could perhaps be rewarded with a slight reduction in council tax. We need imagination and determination to raise awareness of this blight.