Unpacking Litter

We recently reached a milestone in our lives that none of us are celebrating. Together we have spent a whole year living with Covid-19 restrictions, cut off from friends and family and with so many working from home, only venturing out for yet another walk or to shop for groceries. Weekly Zoom quizzes and family Gin nights can only remain a novelty for so long. As a highly social species, we crave human contact and interaction, face to face.

This week has also seen us reach the first stage of the Government's relaxation of the lockdown restriction rules. We can now meet someone else at a park and we can even have another family round to sit in a garden. It's the small things that really matter. Mrs.M was even reunited with her Mum this week, after six months apart. Not only do we have newly rediscovered freedoms, but we have also been blessed with a return of the sunshine of 'Lockdown_1.0'. However, we have seen some worrying scenes as huge crowds of people flood into parks across the land, flouting Covid-19 social distancing guidelines. Police and local authorities are rightly reminding people of the restrictions and have threatened to close parks for all if common sense does not prevail.

In images often associated with the aftermath of a large festival, pictures and footage have also begun to emerge of parks strewn with litter. Entire fields spread with plastic bottles, bags, drinks containers and food packaging left behind by these gatherings. Human beings are too often a scourge upon the planet and its resources. Too often we treat our environment with complete disregard, despite the visual reminders that our actions have consequences. Many of those gathering this week will be familiar with the Blue Planet and the shocking footage of plastic packaging entering the marine ecosystem, to often devastating consequences. Many may have personally committed to doing more to reduce their own environmental impact. Few can be ignorant to the challenges we face. One sunny day coupled with new found freedom and we collectively ignore our responsibilities and simply leave our rubbish where it is for someone else to come along and clean up.

It must be the Retailer's fault, they sold the food and drinks - tax them and make them pay. It must be the packaging manufacturer's fault - eliminate all packaging. It must be the local authorities fault in not providing enough bins - they should pre-empt extraordinary spikes in park numbers and provide extra bins on demand. Who is to blame? Let's find a silver bullet and cure the problem. The problem is, we are to blame; human beings. The good news is, not only are we part of the problem, we are also part of the solution.

Yes, we should eliminate all unnecessary packaging and minimise the amount of material used. Yes, we should consider the sustainability and environmental impact of the packaging materials we use. Yes, we should design packaging for circularity. Yes, local authorities should provide improved 'on-the-go' recycling bins and facilities. Yes, as a nation we need to develop our recycling capability and capacity. It is a complex problem that requires and array of complex actions. However, we are all working hard to play our part. There is no silver bullet.

The decision to simply drop and leave behind your packaging and Bags For Life is your decision, your responsibility and it is you that should reflect upon it and take responsibility. Yes, some images show bagged waste placed by overflowing bins, but all of the images show a much larger volume of waste strewn across the field, unbagged and simply left behind where it was consumed.

Having married a Scot and also having cycled the North Coast 500, I have spent a lot of time in Scotland, with it's crystal clear water, white beaches, spectacular mountains and unspoilt wilderness. If you are not already aware, last summer the small rural communities of Scotland's North and West coasts faced exactly the same litter problem. UK families unable to fly to exotic summer holidays instead plumped for a roadtrip around Scotland, in huge numbers. What followed in their wake was litter strewn fields, hedgerows and beaches as people on-tour in the remotest of locations discarded and left behind their used packaging and waste. Tiny local communities were left to count the cost and pick it up before it found its way into local waterways and the ocean.

Yes, we are part of the problem, but we are also part of the solution. Bag it up and place it in a bin. If the bin is full, take it home and dispose of it properly.