Littering and the publics attitude towards shared communal areas

[Jives Miguel]

Going to work this morning, it dawned on me what a nation of filthy, manky, lazy, selfish b*****ds Scotland is. Walking along streets caked in chewing gum, fag ends and dog shite. Bottles of juice and rubbish stuffed into hedges, bus stops and any nook or cranny. Get on the train and there's empty cans of juice, somebodies leftover roll and ticket receipts everywhere. Got into work and somebody had left their mug and teaspoon in the sink from the previous day. Went for a pish and somebody has splattered the toilet seat and not cleaned it up.

 

Why are we like this? When did this attitude creep in that its acceptable to just leave your mess at your arse and have someone else to deal with? I was always taught from a young age that littering was a disgraceful thing to do. Why does nobody have any respect left for the places that they live in? I'm really jealous of places like Japan and Singapore which have cultures of cleaning up after yourself. Glasgow is a filthy pigsty by comparison.

[mathematics]

It’s definitely a notion of “I’m alright Jack”, but maybe it was always that way and we just used to put money aside for street cleaners, or is it that consumables are so much more readily available for discarding?

[jamamafegan]

People who litter are the scum of the earth. I think in Singapore they cane people who litter - hence why their streets are so clean. I would happily welcome this punishment being brought to Scotland. The worst offenders are dog owners who bag their dogs shite and then either leave said bag on the ground or fling into the branches of a nearby tree. There is a special place in hell for those people. 

[Arch Stanton]

What "juice" was in these cans and bottles?

[Richey Edwards]

Littering is a disgraceful and inconsiderate thing to do. People who drop litter are fucking wankers who should be force-fed whatever they drop.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Richey Edwards

[Guest Sheltie97]

Soonds lik it needs a good Redd Up

https://www.shetland.org/videos/shetland-life/da-voar-redd-up

Edited June 8, 2023 by Sheltie97

[MEADOWXI]

The country id full of just lazy stupid folk that literally don't care further than the end of themselves. They can carry a full 24 case of beer to the beach, but the weight of carrying the empty cans or bottles back is too much, They will post on Insta or FB about how beautiful the beach or loch Lomond or wherever they are is, whilst discarding disposable BBQs, and food wrappers and everything around them. 

I really is basic ignorant laziness that has got worse as everything has become more disposable.

 

We are now a disposable society that has not learned how to dispose of anything.

[Jan Vojáček]

I cannot get my head around folk who litter. When I lived in Glasgow especially you'd be cutting about Victoria Park and people. Normal people - not wee bammy kids or anything - would just drop their can and stand on it. Or chuck a bottle into a hedge.

It infuriates me. Especially when you're out with the dog and he starts trying to eat whatever mess folk have decided to just drop at their arse.

I would fully support either the caning or those who drop litter, or forcing them to eat whatever they have dropped. In fact I'd consider both punishments to be fairly light.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

I think people are just essentially selfish b*****ds. Im probably also a selfish b*****d but I suppose my selfishness is that I feel I deserve to not have to see litter etc. Cuts to refuse services are contributory but I think people who get caught littering should be forced to spend 1hr picking up litter which continues to build every time they get caught. Unfortunately the ‘right on’ politicians in Scotland who think no one should ever be punished for anything would never let that happen. 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

1 hour ago, Arch Stanton said:

What "juice" was in these cans and bottles?

Trucker’s Tizer. 

[Michael W]

Living in a block of flats was enough for me to see what people can be like with regards to waste. The amount of dross dropped and left around communal areas or the mess made of the bin stores, was infuriating. Bearing in mind these were the communal areas of a building they lived in, you dread to think their attitude to spaces that they are not in the vicinity of. Clatty, clatty b*****ds. 

[Trackdaybob]

Basically. Very basically, (a lot of) people are just fuckin minks. 

[ICTChris]

There was a previous litter thread fromJune 2020 and here is my post from it:

Since the lockdown I, like everyone else I assume, has been spending much more time in parks, I've had my son out in most of the parks in West Edinburgh and the state of some of them is an absolute disgrace.  The other day we were in Saughton Park, which has beautiful gardens, a great playpark and skate park and a refurbished bandstand.  Rubbish everywhere, some of it left lying within feet of a bin.  A few days before that we were in Hailes Quarry Park, which is actually quite lovely despite being in a fairly deprived area, but this was the day after the first really hot day and the football pitch was covered with discarded carry outs.  Someone had smashed a bottle on the path, meaning I had to carry my wee boy rather than let him run about.  Previously when I've been at both parks I've found broken glass in the childrens play area, once at Saughton Park I found a discarded knife lying in the woodchip.

It does make me wonder about litter and littering.  One contributory factor I think is eating outside, there seems to have been a big increase in people eating on the go since I was a kid.  There are far more takeaway shops and places selling food obviously to eat on the move.  Most of the litter you see strewn about is food or drink related.  I don't remember everyone lugging about bags of food and eating all the time when I was a kid.  Maybe I'm being esoteric here but maybe people are more likely to throw away the litter from disposable junk food than other things. 

Also, there's someting about the self absorption and self centredness of our culture.  Think about the reasoning involved in dropping litter - I have finished with this wrapper/can/bottle, I will drop it here.  No consideration about other people and no willingness to make the tiny sacrifice necesary to either put it in a bin or carry it home.  People are so consumed with themselves that they don't seem to notice or care about the effect they have on their environment.  People look at what impacts them right then and there and evaluate their actions on that.

There's a pop-sociological theory called the Shopping Trolley Theory that says you can determine if someone is a good person or not by whether they put their shopping trolley back in the bay after unloading it into their car or if they just leave it behind.  It's maybe a bit trite but it speaks to the same type of thought process as littering.  

[welshbairn]

There’s probably an element of despair; 'everyone else is making this place a shithole, me taking my rubbish home won't make a difference'. And then littering in front of your children so they learn to do the same. 

[Ross.]

More noticeable every time I come home.  Collectively yous are a bunch of clatty b*****ds. You’d be absolutely hounded here if you were caught dropping an empty can or a crisp poke or the like, and rightly so.

[Hedgecutter]

I say name and shame the people caught littering and get the general public to throw rubbish onto their property. 

Vigilantism at its best.

[Central Belt Caley]

People who smoke or vape are the biggest bug bears for me. See far too many fag ends lying in the street and have had arguments with my pals because they’ve been pinging their fag ends away when they’re done.

Been seeing so many of the disposable vapes lying around recently too. I think it comes down to pure ignorance to be honest. 

There’s a community group round where I live and they go round doing litter picks every so often. The amount of bags they end up with from such a small area is frightening. 

[coprolite]

Confirm that this isn’t just Scotland. England and Wales are equally lazy and antisocial.

There’s a road through a bit of heathland up the valleys that the council had to fortify with a ditch and embankment to stop clarty c***s fly tipping there. Guaranteed there’s now a ditch full of sofas and fridges. 

[Cosmic Joe]

2 hours ago, Central Belt Caley said:

People who smoke or vape are the biggest bug bears for me. See far too many fag ends lying in the street and have had arguments with my pals because they’ve been pinging their fag ends away when they’re done.

Been seeing so many of the disposable vapes lying around recently too. I think it comes down to pure ignorance to be honest. 

There’s a community group round where I live and they go round doing litter picks every so often. The amount of bags they end up with from such a small area is frightening. 

Cigarette smokers must be the laziest, most selfish individuals on the planet. When was the last time you saw someone dispose of one in a considerate manner? 

They get discarded everywhere. Who do they expect to pick up after them? 

[throbber]

Hanging a bag of dog shite on a tree is exceptionally scummy behaviour, why go to that sort of hassle and why not just leave the shit lying on the floor so at least it isn’t dangling around eye level? 
 

In my last house I remember a dog walker left their bag of dog shite sat on top of my bin for me to deal with, why would anyone do that? If you’re going to be a an absolute c**t then just put it inside the bin so at least it’s out of sight.