There is no excuse for litter. No excuse at all.

Some people have no respect! There is a lot of information available about the plastic, rubbish and litter that strews our world, and what it does. You would think people would care a little more about what they do with their left over mess. Not a hope.

We have a café at work and provide coffee and food for customers. The utter mess that is left sometimes over the tables, chairs and floor is really quite extraordinary. I know that you cant help crumbs and the odd accidental spillage, but to see rubbish and paper and bits left lying about, cups on their sides and spoons on the floor, makes me wonder what some people's homes are like? Maybe they think it doesn't matter because they are not actually at home? I have even overheard it said that the mess is left so workers 'have something to do'. Believe me those workers have plenty to do. 

I see this happen in our streets and towns. Rubbish just chucked all over the place, litter dropped even though a bin is just a little further on, and don't get me started on fast food rubbish! We have a Kentucky Fried Chicken just down the road from my home and they do go out and check and clear litter regularly. Even so you can see that some people are just not bothered about the area where they live. You can often find empty Kentucky boxes partially filled with food left in the gutter, thrown over the pavement and even on the bus stop seat. It makes me mad to see it, and I genuinely wonder why these people don't use the bin or take their rubbish home with them? I would love to be brave enough to confront them, but so far I haven't actually seen anyone making this mess. I just see it afterwards, or have to clear it up at work. Fast food outlets do not have to clear the rubbish outside their shops, but I think if this was a provision of them staying open things would be different. To be honest though, why should they have to clear the rubbish that people who have bought their food chuck about? What has happened to respect for our environment and where you live? Don't people want to live in a nice area? Don't they want it to be clean and tidy? It should be a real taboo, and totally antisocial, to leave rubbish lying around. People should be shocked about it instead of saddened.

What about our beaches and countryside? You can't tell me that people accidentally leave used nappies and disposable cups and paper bags there? The piles of rubbish left in these areas makes me weep for the future of our country. There is no excuse for not knowing what this rubbish does. There is no excuse for leaving it. There is enough information out there in the media, the internet, posters, schools, everywhere, that tells you how long this rubbish takes to break down, what it does to wildlife if they eat it, and what happens to the environment when it is polluted like this. Even if you think it won't affect you in your lifetime what about the life of your children, your grandchildren, your descendants? They will be living in an environment that is slowly decaying around them, and it will be the fault of the selfish people who seem absolutely not to care about what they do with their rubbish.

When I was young I was taught to take my rubbish home with me, or put it in a bin. It's easy. Put your sweet wrappers in your pocket until you get home. That fast food outlet has bins around it so use them. All towns have bins, lots of them. Beaches have bins on the seafront. Lots of them too. If the bin is full find another bin or take it home. Don't dump it round the base of the bin so it can be blown all across the beach, rod or countryside. You have bins at home. You can recycle. There is no excuse. I firmly believe there should be education, not just for the very young children in schools, but reminders and projects and information right up to teens and beyond. Children should be taught to challenge their peers if they drop rubbish and litter. In fact we should all feel free to challenge other people about litter dropping, but sadly you never know what reaction you will get. It should be shame, but it could also be confrontation. The sad thing about all this is we are too afraid to point out to people that they have made litter for fear of retaliation.

It's such a pity that it has got to this stage. That everyone I know talks about having respect for the environment, and yet no one feels able to speak out. Everyone has a responsibility to keep our country clean. There are some fabulous communities that are trying to clean up their areas and keep them clean, but there needs to be a change of mindset, a change of attitude, and bit of respect from a lot more people for this to becomes permanent. 

To be frank it makes me mad that I have to pick up litter that some people have carelessly dropped. It also makes me sad. I wish I could just leave it, but I can't. If everyone left the litter what would our country be like? What would our world be like? Some thing needs to change. Some people need to change. Attitudes need to change. Keep our country tidy please.