Roadside litter and rubbish thrown from cars

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Just take a quick (safe) look outside of your car next time you stop at a slip road junction or roundabout etc.  Gaze into the verge and do a visual check on all the discarded items on the roadside.  The amount of rubbish left lying on the roadside in the UK is a national disgrace.

This morning is the closest I have ever come to a road/litter rage incident!  I was sat in stop/start traffic on the way to work, and was driving behind a car containing a young man and woman.  All of a sudden, the passenger side window came down and out was thrown a plastic sandwich box, drink can and several other items.  This makes my blood boil.  Absolute laziness at its worst and disregard for the environment and the surroundings that everyone has to live in.

Had the traffic not started to move I was most definitely about to leave my car and throw the litter back through the offender's window. Instead I had to content myself with keeping my hand on the horn, to attract attention to myself and them, making eye contact with the driver and letting them know in no uncertain terms what I thought.  I would not dream of doing this and cannot understand how anyone else can, especially so blatantly.  Do these people not have bins at home that they can deposit their litter into when they get there?  Or is that too much trouble?

Empty beer cans, crisp packets, newspapers, drinks cartons, fast food containers etc...

Goodness knows what visitors to our country think of it.  Empty beer and soft drinks cans, fag packets, crisp packets, newspapers, drinks cartons, fast food containers etc.  I really wonder what goes through the mind of the person who deposits this rubbish into the verge.  Not much I would guess I suspect.  It's a reflex action that probably takes no brain power due to mental programming - 'whilst someone else clears up for me I don't need to worry about it'?

Mind you if the practice of dumping rubbish on the roadside was stopped, then the members of our society who get awarded 'community service' as a punishment would have nothing to do would they?  But hey, maybe it's the very people that carry out this mindless act of littering our public spaces that should be the ones that also get the task of clearing up their own 'work'.

By: Wendy Em & Noble Ox

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ajp

Why do people think littering is ok and harmless? Aside from the fact that I have no desire to live amongst other people's crap, it is genuinely costly to everyone to clean the damned stuff up! I am not even sure it is laziness. I have actually watched a mother unwrap a sweet for her child right by a bin and then simply drop the litter on the floor!! The bin was right fecking there!!!

14/04/11 ajp

-14

TaxPayer UK

Its about time we got that element of society who just want to sit on their backsides claiming Job Seekers Allowance working, let them lazy B------s pick it up. Stick a fluorescent jacket on them and get them earning their money. Although I suppose Health and Safety may have something to say about that!!!! We are Europes rubbish tip!!!!!

28/03/11 TaxPayer UK

7

Weston Babe

There's a certain sliproad near us, where it seems that everyone who gets a takeaway, throws their bags of rubbish out of the car. Don't they realise that ultimately, they pay to have that rubbish removed. I once did a bit of research into this and along a 40 mile length of Trunk Road near us, there's about 5 tonnes of rubbish picked up each month, at a cost of around £5,000 each time. If no-one dropped litter, we would all pay less tax.

15/02/11 Weston Babe

20

John

I was once giving a lift to someone who happened to be finishing a bottle of Coke. We were travelling about 15mph along a side street which at this time saw very little traffic. After my passenger had finished his drink, he threw the bottle out of my car window. Horrified with this, I reversed the car back to where the empty bottle had been thrown (only a few yards and there was nothing coming up behind me), demanded my passenger got out to retrieve the bottle which he reluctantly did. In the meantime, I slammed the passenger door shut and drove off without him. Seconds later I looked in my rear view mirror to see the guy running after me waving his fist as I drove away. If that didn't teach him not to throw litter, I don't know what will.

05/02/11 John

-3

Carpe Diem

Just a note to LITTERER This site was concieved & designed for people who want to have a grumble that is why they gripe on it or have you not grasped the reason behind the site name?

03/01/11 Carpe Diem

-3

ajp

I was actually hit by someone throwing a half full can of Coke from a car. Left a bruise on my arm and cleaning bill for my coat. Nice.

30/10/10 ajp

-13

grumpyoldwoman

Litterer, if getting upset about other people's rubbish is really sad, how much sadder is it to get upset about someone commenting on something that annoys them?

I think we know who needs to get a life!

16/08/10 grumpyoldwoman

-4

LITTERER

Get over it sad act!
It's really sad that you have nothing better to do than get upset about other peoples rubbish!
Get a life lady!

16/08/10 LITTERER

-5

Ben

Totally agree. Selfish jerks.
That was a good nub-end wasted there.

04/07/10 Ben

-7

Bobby

A few months ago I was driving my mother back from a department store. The driver ahead of us threw his cigarette right under my car.

Selfish jerks!

04/07/10 Bobby

0

Gill Waldron

Road side rubbish - I couldn't agree more with the article above, and now we are at that time of year where the verges are being cut, and the rubbish dumped on those verges is now being chopped into hundreds of pieces, wouldn't it be more prudent of the related councils to send someone out with the verge cutters to litter pick before they chop it up!!!??? What are all the offenders sentenced to Community service hours doing these days? I had friends visiting from Australia and they were appalled at the amount of litter lying around and along our main roads and now it seems the country lanes are fair game as well. I am ashamed to drive on these roads, what do we pay our taxes for these days, obviously not to keep our Great Britain great!!!

24/05/10 Gill Waldron

-2

takenitthatway

click click eeeeawwwwww bump ....toss.....clink clink smash....eeeeaawwwwwww whooossh woosh bump.....outa sight outa mind......this is what happens all the time, that and the carrier bags of rubbish dropped on the pavement or roadside in the middle of nowhere...

30/04/10 takenitthatway

-2

Chucky Tout

Being tortuously charitable, perhaps the litterers see themselves as job creationists. Or maybe not. Probably raised by pigs. One thing is certain and that is that they can't read so they won't be offended or corrected by anything written here:)

16/04/10 Chucky Tout

4

Copper 3T

I remember a friend telling me of an aquaintance who, visiting Canada, was taken fishing by his friend's neighbour. When he had finished his cigarette, he dropped the 'dog end ' on the river bank and was immediately instructed to PICK THAT UP !, you are not in England now you know.

12/04/10 Copper 3T

-12

exhasperated

There seems to be a coincidence with people who smoke and eat junk food being too lazy to cook clean up after themselves or find a bin , sorry if you do these things but are one of the few who do clear up after yourselves .

30/12/09 exhasperated

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