Have I ever mentioned how much I love living in the countryside? I really do, but there is something I hate about it – finding other people’s rubbish. I hate litterers who spoil our beautiful scenery.
I live on a farm at the end of a valley in the Scottish Borders. There are a couple of disadvantages to living here. One is that we have no mobile phone signal and the other is that we can’t get broadband via our telephone line. Because of that, we pay a small fortune in order to get satellite broadband. But despite those things, we love living here. It’s peaceful. Tranquil. Beautiful. Unspoiled. Well, unspoiled until some people decide to visit the area for a picnic, then leave their rubbish behind.
We had to go out yesterday. On our way home, after driving about a quarter of a mile through the farm gate, we spotted the remnants of someone’s picnic. They’d left, not just their plastic containers from M&S, but also a load of used tissues. My husband had to pick them up so he could put them into our bin at our house.
I Hate Other People’s Rubbish
Other people’s rubbish makes me so angry. It’s bad enough at any time, but we’re in the middle of a pandemic. My husband had to pick up someone’s used tissues!
We’re all supposed to be extra careful about what we touch in supermarkets. “Don’t touch unless you’re going to buy” is the general rule in most supermarkets now. Yet someone thinks it’s okay to leave their plastic containers and tissues so that someone else needs to pick them up to dispose of them.
Why Do They Think Other People Should Pick Up Their Rubbish?
This is a common problem in parks, beaches and in our beautiful countryside. It’s a disgusting problem. Litterers obviously do not care one iota about their environment.
I see people talk about litterers on local Facebook groups. People share photos of rubbish they’ve found in local beauty spots. Amongst the rubbish there have been drink cans, plastic bottles, broken glass, food containers, used nappies, damaged tents, broken deckchairs and broken toys. And, a sign of the times, there are often hypodermic needles, face masks and disposable gloves.
Fly-tipping is also a major problem with builders waste, old furniture and kitchen appliances being dumped. It’s unsightly and it’s illegal and should be reported to authorities.
How do some people’s brains work? Why do they think that it is okay to leave their rubbish for other people to take away to dispose of? Why can’t they dispose of it themselves? Is it too much effort to put their rubbish into a bin? If there’s no bin, why can’t they take their rubbish home? And why can’t they take their larger items to the council-run waste and recycling centres instead of dumping them in a layby in a local beauty spot?
Do they leave their rubbish lying in their own gardens at home? Do they have someone who cleans up after them who picks up everything they drop? How would they feel if I had a picnic in their garden and left my rubbish for them to pick up?
I Was Brought Up to Bin My Rubbish or Take it Home
When I was a young girl, I was taught never to drop litter. I put sweetie wrappers into my pockets and binned them when I came home. If we had a picnic, we binned our rubbish or we took it home. Wherever we’d been, nobody would have known we’d been there. We left nothing. We left the area unspoiled.
Why Should We Have to Pick Up Other People’s Rubbish?
We shouldn’t have to but we love our beautiful countryside, therefore, we will not leave other people’s rubbish lying there to spoil it. Groups of volunteers regularly go on cleaning missions, picking up and disposing of rubbish in verges and beaches. They do that because they love and appreciate the beauty of the area. They love the countryside and don’t like to see it spoiled.
The litterers also claim to love the countryside. Apparently, that’s why they come here. They drive into the countryside because they want to see the beautiful scenery and breathe in the clean air. Perhaps they enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of town life and want to enjoy the peace and quiet.
But if they really loved the countryside, they would respect it and the people who live in the area. They would not leave their rubbish so that other people need to pick it up.
Littering is Not Just Unsightly, it’s Dangerous
There is danger attached to every piece of litter which is left lying. Litterers might think it’s okay to just drop their rubbish, but if children come along after them, they could easily pick up needles or stand on broken glass.
They also pose a risk to the local inhabitants – farm animals and wildlife. The RSPCA recieves, on average, 14 calls a day about animals affected by litter. Animals, birds and even fish can be suffocated, choke, or get caught and tangled in people’s rubbish.
Most People Aren’t Litterers
I know that not everyone who visits the countryside is a litterer. Most are like me and have been brought up to take their rubbish home if there’s no bin. And they get just as angry as me when they see that other people have left their rubbish lying. Very often they bag it and bin it.
If you are reading this and you have ever left your rubbish for someone else to pick up, please never do it again. Bin it or take it home. Let’s all do our bit to keep beauty spots beautiful and unspoiled.
It sounds like a lovely escape where you are, aside from the lack of WiFi or mobile phone signal, which I actually can’t even imagine these days with how much I rely on them!
With you being at the end of the valley, is it a bit like a cul-de-sac, or are there any properties past yours? It sounds like people go down there to get a nice peaceful place to enjoy themselves, then dump everything quite happily and drive back home. Even during the pandemic, where you’re supposed to be staying the hell home! Arggghh!
We get this here but it’s a bit of a suburb-ish location, and we’re not in a great area so it’s less surprising to see heaps of crisp packets, used god-knows-what and so on floating around the driveway around my car or stuck to our front gate. It’s a bit different out in the sticks like where you are. There’s something all the more vile about it, like that’s unspoilt beauty and nature and yet people are still abusing it like that.
I was raised like you, and I’ve carried that through to my adult years. I’ve never knowingly littered and would be pretty horrified by the thought of dropping a can or whatever else. It’s just not something we’d ever think about doing. If there’s no bin, you take it home.
I think the problem goes beyond needing a bin. There are bins here, and on beaches, yet rubbish gets dumped. It’s an attitude issue, or at least that’s what I think. There’s a lack of respect for the world and a lack of consideration for other people. There’s obnoxious ignorance and the sense that they don’t need to do what others tell them, that they can do whatever the ‘f’ they want ‘cause they don’t care, innit. Or something like that.
It’s the harm to animals that really gets me. That photo makes me want to cry. That’s so, so sad to see. Heartbreaking.
It makes you wonder if the people who willingly and happily litter also live in a home filled with junk they just throw down on the floor. If not, why do they think they can treat the world like a giant bin or toilet? Our world needs looking after, and both animals and humans need more consideration because every action has a knock-on effect.
I share your frustration, Liz. I’m sorry you’re having this where you live. It’s just not on. Very well said. xx