It’s time to clean up our act
Rubbish strewn across streets, carpets of detritus left behind in city centres, discarded packaging dumped in parks for someone else to deal with.
These are all scenes that have become too familiar during the easing of coronavirus restrictions in the UK but which have their root in a much more long-term problem — the UK’s litter epidemic.
Today we are standing up to it, and urging you to do the same, with our new campaign Don’t Trash Our Future.
The East Kilbride News, together with local community and information p l a t f o r m I n Yo u r A r e a . c o . u k a n d o u r nat i o n w i d e n e t work o f s i s t e r newspapers and websites, have teamed up with Clean Up Britain to push for changes we believe will leave no choice but for both irresponsible litter louts and the authorities who have the power to enforce the law but so often don’t to take long-lasting action.
Our campaign has two aims:
To increase the maximum punishment for littering to a £1,000 fine or 100 hours of supervised community litter picking To make it compulsory for local authorities to enforce the law on littering We are urging you to sign our petition (inyourarea.co.uk/DTOF) t o s ee i t - with t he ai m of reaching 100,000 signatures so we can lobby the Government to change the legislation and shed the country of its long-held reputation as a litter-plagued nation.
We’re also calli ng on councils t o flex their muscles in the fight against rubbish and make far better use of the powers they already have available.
A Freedom of Information request s e n t b y C l e a n Up B r i t a i n t o 1 6 9 councils in England and Wales found the majority (56%) were issuing less than one fine per week for littering and more than two dozen (16%) don’t issue fines at all.
In a re cent s ur vey conducted by InYourArea.co.uk, more than 7,500 re s pondents over whelmingly s ai d littering has a negative effect on them and their neighbourhoods and classed it as a big problem.
Support has come from television host Gabby Logan and her husband Kenny, a former Scotland international rugby player turned broadcaster.
Together they said: “We’re urging ever yone t o get behind t he ‘ Don’t Trash Our Future’ national anti-litter campaign, and show how much we care about our naturally beautiful country. Littering is senseless, selfish and costly to us all.
“It’s only a minority of people who do it, but it negatively affects the quality of life for absolutely everyone.
“To use the sporting analogy... it’s a self-inflicted, needless, own goal. It doesn’t cost a penny to do the sociallyresponsible right thing, and put your litter in a bin. Just do it! Please.”
John Read, f ounder of Clean Up Britain, said: “Clean Up Britain is very excited to be running the Don’t Trash Our Future campaign with InYourArea. co.uk
“We know from the countless people who contact us that there is a huge desire - from people all over the country - to try and solve the litter epidemic.
“We are all so fortunate to live in a beautiful countr y, but equally, it ’s so depressing to see so many people littering it.
“This has to stop, as it shames Britain. “There has t o be z e ro t ol e r a nce towards littering.
“Littering is symptomatic of a lack of pride in our local communities, and a lack of respect for other people and the environment generally.
“This campaign is about challenging and reversing t hese negative s e nt i ments, a nd s ay i ng e nough i s enough.
“Let’s be grateful for what we have, take care of our country and, above all, ‘Don’t Trash Our Future’.”
Mr Read added: “The Government needs to start getting serious about confronting people who litter.
“It’s a criminal offence to litter and it needs to be treated that way.
“Fines need to be increased to
a level which shows the Government - and society generally - will no longer t ol erat e t hi s anti s oci al and s el f i s h behaviour.
“In addition, we also need to ensure fines are a credible deterrent, by making it compulsory for councils to enforce the law, which currently it’s not.”
Journalist and television presenter Jeremy Paxman is Clean Up Britain’s patron. He said: “There is only one sustainable and effective solution to littering: changing the behaviour of people who do it. Nothing else will work.
“It pollutes t he environment. It ’s dangerous to humans and animals.
“It depresses people because mucky surroundings make them feel worthless. It’s expensive — councils across t he UK spend over a bil l i on pounds a year tr ying to clean it up.”