Rubbish, a growing problem.

 Yesterday morning I went down to Acton to encourage Margaret Maybury (pictured to the right of the picture on the left)  and some of her 18 helpers who were working hard on a litter pick in the village.   

 Regular readers of this site will know that Margaret regularly organises these events. She, along with David Johnson who at last week's Annual Parish Meeting announced his retirement from his very regular litter picking activities, has been responsible for Acton being a much cleaner place than it otherwise would be.  We owe them both, and their helpers, a big thank you.

Margaret tells me that on Saturday over 320 bottles of various sorts were collected, together with over 30 bags of rubbish.  Margaret would like to extend thanks to all who took part.

The problem of litter in the countryside seems to have become worse in recent years.  In a radio programme a few weeks ago the broadcaster, David Sedaris commenting on the problem, remarked: ‘Why should everyone have to live in a teenager’s bedroom? ' Why indeed!

Sedaris was quoted by MP’s recently at the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, which was looking at the problems of litter in the countryside,  The report makes interesting reading and can be found here..  One problem is that a number of different agencies have responsibility for rubbish clear up. Many of the larger ones such as the District Councils and the Highways Agency only have limited resources with which to tackle the problem.  

Following the receipt of a letter on the subject from an irate resident recently, I raised the matter with the Head of Environment at Babergh, Chris Fry.  Chris acknowledged that over the last four years the amount of rubbish collected has increased by 10 percent year on year, rising from some 71,480 tonnes in 2011/12 to an estimated 102,000 tons in 2014/15.

This is in part due to more communities getting involved with their own litter picking activities, which Babergh is keen to support.  If you want to organise a litter pick full details about how to go about it, and who to contact for help,  are on the Babergh website.

It seems difficult to get the Government to take the issue of every increasing litter seriously. Many believe that education is the answer, but I think that, while a good idea, this will take a long time to bear fruit.  It is hard to escape noticing that around Sudbury a lot of the rubbish on the verges emanates from the fast food outlets around the town.  It is possible to ask these organisations to clear up on a one off basis under existing legislation.  I believe however that a levy should be paid on every item to pay for more workers to clear up the debris on a regular basis.  It is a blight on the landscape and often a danger to wildlife.  Community action and personal effort can make a difference, but the commercial activities that are the source of the rubbish should also have to pick up the tab.

Make the polluter pay!

Acton litter pickers