Anyone do wombling (litter picking) here

[cheesefest]

As saw the thread of magnet fishing, it spurred me on to write about this.

I'm part of a group that does group picks around Leicestershire. Don't do many as due to work. Always have the kit - bag hoop, bags, litter picker, hi-viz and gloves in my car boot all the time. So if I happen to drive past a load of rubbish and able to park nearby and got time, I park up and pick up the litter. Problem is I see roads with rubbish but unable to park or got no pavement and drivers drive well over the speed limit.

We do find loads of stuff when doing a group pick, esp round industrial estates/parks. Last week, someone found some window frames, I found a 12ft plastic pipe which was there for 8 years, according to streetview. That took some doing getting to it as it was behind a metal fence with 6 inch gaps. Had to borrow the group organiser's extra long picker to bring the pipe forward so could get to it under the fence and pull it from there.

When doing industrial estates, you find more stuff such as driver's tizer - bottles of urine from the lorry drivers as nowhere for them to do their business and then sling out the bottle. Then in the residential areas, always find a collection of nitrous oxide canisters

Strangest things I have found was a suitcase containing dirty underwear with a Sky+ box, a bag of unopened shopping - three months after the dates, a bag of crisps with something with Montreal Olympics (1976), a yellow sign mentioning some road closure 8 years previously.

If you are interested, ring your local council and some are better than others. My council don't provide hoops, pickers and hi-viz, but provide bags. Place them next to council bins. Of a different colour so bin men know its from litter pickers and not a resident dumping their stuff. Though the county council have provided the equipment and a couple of local companies have sponsored the hi viz.

I would advise everyone to download an app called Love Clean Streets. So if you driving or walking and see some flytipping etc - then report it on here. It will then send it to the council responsible for the area. Very useful in that sense as some parts near to me, I have no clue which council that part of land it belongs to. Also the same app can be used to report things like broken street lights etc.

 

[dave28]

I really hate litter droppers, if you drop littler and are reading this i think you are brain dead

 

[firstborn]

Good effort OP. There's a small army of litter pickers around where I live. I also hate litter droppers lazy selfish *****

 

[Yaayuh!]

I clean up my neighbourhood a long with someone else that I don't know. Council haven't provided me with anything, I just bought a couple of pickers, a hoop and my supply my own bags. I should probably get a high viz, i've a few near misses.

Most common litter for me is as follows, in descending order.:

1. Fast food packaging
2. Plastic soft drink bottles
3. Dog poo
   
4. Alcohol tins and bottles
5. General food packaging
6. Random bits of metal/rubber/plastic from vehicles

Fly tipping happens at least a couple of times a year, I just report them.

I get a lot of people thanking me, which is nice, but I try to ask them to contact the council and complain about lack of litter bins and council litter collection service.

Sometimes I get people swearing at me from vans/trucks, always (literally always) Neanderthal tradesmen, which doesn't surprise me.

 

[cheesefest]

I have never seen anyone throwing out a bottle etc out of a car window. As see loads of bottles and McDs packaging. If you have a dash cam, some councils are very interested in any footage of anyone throwing stuff out of the window. Can fine them

 

[cheesefest]

I clean up my neighbourhood a long with someone else that I don't know. Council haven't provided me with anything. I just bought a couple of pickers, a hoop and my supply my own bags.

Most common litter for me is as follows, in descending order.:

1. Fast food packaging
2. Plastic soft drink bottles
3. Dog poo
   
4. Alcohol tins and bottles
5. General food packaging
6. Random bits of metal/rubber/plastic from vehicles

Fly tipping happens at least a couple of times a year, I just report them.

I get a lot of people thanking me, which is nice, but I try to ask them to contact the council and complain about lack of litter bins and council litter collection service.

Sometimes I get people swearing at me from cars, always (literally always) Neanderthal tradesmen, which doesn't surprise me.

6 is natural. Plus bits of plastic wrapping that has blown off from flat bed lorries covering wood etc.

The rest is laziness

 

[Yaayuh!]

Plus bits of plastic wrapping that has blown off from flat bed lorries covering wood etc.

Probably the most annoying one as they get caught in bushes and you can't yank them out without tearing, so in the bush you go and you know it'll be the thorniest bush too.

 

[FortuitousFluke]

Dear OP, please stop rifling through my bags. I'd appreciate it if you could return my sky box, my slightly soiled underwear and my vintage crisps (don't even think about taking these to antiques roadshow, I have been in direct correspondence with them about featuring my crisps and, even though the restraining order means I can no longer email Fiona Bruce, I'm sure I'll receive the call up soon).

 

[Dis86]

There's an old couple in my village that do it. Very tempted to join them. We don't get a huge amount thankfully as the locals aren't scum but similar to what's been reported in this thread. Annoyingly never see anyone throwing it it just...appears.

Did catch a contractor red handed at work a little while back. Just turfed all of his fast food wrappers and junk out of the passenger footwell. Confronted him about it and he denied it. Went direct to his boss who I happen to know pointed out if he'd admitted it and cleaned it up thered be no issue. His boss confronted him and he still denied it.
He got sacked. He tried to challenge it and was still in denial even when he was shown the clear as day cctv. His union refused to defend him.

 

[ttaskmaster]

We get two paid days a year to go clean up the waterways, mainly as we have all the access permissions and entry kit as part of our jobs anyway, and can access the areas that are off limits to the public.

 

[Tefal]

I really hate litter droppers, if you drop littler and are reading this i think you are brain dead

The scummers who sit and eat their macdonalds in the carpark then throw the bag and rubbish out the window **** me off.


Just why? There's even special bins you can reach from your car window on the way out ffs

 

[Fubsy]

Admirable and I even pick stuff up when I can, but can't help feel doing this enables the litter louts to just carry on with the attitude of "someone else will pick it up".

 

[dave28]

The scummers who sit and eat their macdonalds in the carpark then throw the bag and rubbish out the window **** me off.


Just why? There's even special bins you can reach from your car window on the way out ffs

I live in Wales and i can tell you Snowdonia has recently been crowded with visitors from away with a long wait at the top to get selfies etc.....

The place is a national park area and is covered in litter now with locals going around trying to clean up after them.

The amount of litter cant be from just a few bad people, no chance

 

[Tefal]

I live in Wales and i can tell you Snowdonia has recently been crowded with visitors from away with a long wait at the top to get selfies etc.....

The place is a national park area and is covered in litter now with locals going around trying to clean up after them.

The amount of litter cant be from just a few bad people, no chance

Oh god yeah, you seen the review of the idiot complaing there's no mcdonalds?

 

[Ahleckz]

Good on you OP. I think I’ll try and get involved when I move in a weeks time. The density of people where I am atm makes it difficult but will do my best. I do pick up the odd bit of litter, and I have chastised the school kids before. A simple “I think you’ve dropped your chip box” always gets them to go and pick it up. But one day I’ll probably get chibbed…

I live in Wales and i can tell you Snowdonia has recently been crowded with visitors from away with a long wait at the top to get selfies etc.....

The place is a national park area and is covered in litter now with locals going around trying to clean up after them.

The amount of litter cant be from just a few bad people, no chance

My best friend, someone is intelligent and a decent person, littered when we were walking up Ben Lomond last year. We sat down, had an orange and banana and he just launched the peelings 15 ft away. I looked at him aghast and asked why he was littering. He claimed organic matter didn’t matter as it would decompose/animals would eat it.
He wasn’t aware it would take years to decompose, and would sit being an eyesore for a long time. Plus, animals in the uk hills don’t eat banana peels.
I went and picked it up and put it in my bag. Carried it up the hill, and then took it home and put it in my bin. I couldn’t believe it. I somewhat assumed litterers were the usual scum but it seems not.

 

[I cant post photos]

I'm too lazy for this, so all I can offer here is a thank you. I never litter and wish nothing but flames and brimstone to those who do.

 

[Tefal]

My best friend, someone is intelligent and a decent person, littered when we were walking up Ben Lomond last year. We sat down, had an orange and banana and he just launched the peelings 15 ft away. I looked at him aghast and asked why he was littering. He claimed organic matter didn’t matter as it would decompose/animals would eat it.
He wasn’t aware it would take years to decompose, and would sit being an eyesore for a long time. Plus, animals in the uk hills don’t eat banana peels.
I went and picked it up and put it in my bag. Carried it up the hill, and then took it home and put it in my bin. I couldn’t believe it. I somewhat assumed litterers were the usual scum but it seems not.

Actually I'm gonna say I didn't know that I'd have thought something like a banana peel would disappear quite fast to animals like sheep.

But saying that I do a lot of composting and know they don't rot fast at all, especially the waxed citrus fruit.


Noted for future (honestly I don't walk in nature or eat fruit often so not that relevant )

 

[cheesefest]

The scummers who sit and eat their macdonalds in the carpark then throw the bag and rubbish out the window **** me off.


Just why? There's even special bins you can reach from your car window on the way out ffs

They do this where I live. See McDs rubbish around a car size rectangle. Also never park in a bay properly.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

No I don't but good for you the amount of litter generally is shocking beaches or anywhere where people gather is the worst I've seen the odd person doing it but had no idea it was so organised or semi official

Actually I'm gonna say I didn't know that I'd have thought something like a banana peel would disappear quite fast to animals like sheep.

But saying that I do a lot of composting and know they don't rot fast at all, especially the waxed citrus fruit.


Noted for future (honestly I don't walk in nature or eat fruit often so not that relevant )

Mine are on a two year cycle (one year to fill up another to rot down) and everything bar wood will decompose in that time
Can you imagine if everyone littered like that? No one wants to turn up to a beauty spot and find piles of peels and banana skins its litter until it decomposes and that could be months

 

[MacRS4]

I have never seen anyone throwing out a bottle etc out of a car window. As see loads of bottles and McDs packaging. If you have a dash cam, some councils are very interested in any footage of anyone throwing stuff out of the window. Can fine them

A little while ago a car in front of me at some lights dumped all of his trash on the pavement. Gave me the rage. Unfortunately my dashcam wasn't connected (was on the way back from BMW, think they disconnect them in the workshop). I plugged it back in only to see the driver of the same car run TWO sets of lights.

Uploaded to the Met, email about NIP being sent.

Not thought of doing that before, but dumping your crap out of your car is just a scummy thing to do.