Trash Free Trails has published its ‘State Of Our Trails’ report, what it says is a ‘first of its kind study into the causes, prevalence, composition …

By stwhannah

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Trash Free Trails: State Of Our Trails Report

Interesting seeing the stats on the types of litter being dropped.

Kind of suggests that it’s commonly dropped by people who we might think would have an affinity and empathy with the outdoors and wilder places that they frequent but often do not.

Thanks for the article Hannah.

Not really – those are all high street brands sold in your local supermarket. What it shows is that there’s a group of people who use the outdoors and buy high street brand ‘energy’ products that DGAF, which is highly unsurprising when you think about the people you meet in the outdoor setting.

I have been on a litter campaign recently and often go to 2 of my local woods with a bin bag and pick up litter while I walk the dogs.

Without doubt, the worst offenders and teenagers who hang around at jumps. They buy meal deals, sweets and crisps from the local Budgens and leave 90% of their litter next to the log they sit on to eat it.

I’ve stopped and chatted to a few groups when I’ve been riding through and explained that I’ve been picking up their litter and the reason why. Partly that I hate litter and it is bad for the environment but also the jumps on on private land with the landowner turning a blind eye to the building, if it attracts attention because of the litter then the landower will knock the jumps down and fence it off and we all lose out. The situation improved for about 2 weeks and then started again.

Last night it got 3 shopping bags worth from a small section of woods, the shopping bags that were left behind from their food so no excuse that they couldn’t carry it.

It’s great work that the Trash Free Trails folk are doing.

It’s good to see that the report has been picked up by some of the national media as well.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/08/litter-blighting-uk-footpaths-lucozade-bottles-most-often-found-study

I think the work that Trash Free Trails is excellent, but how do we stop Litterers/Single Use Polluters from dropping their rubbish in the first place. Even if the campaign to stop single use plastics is successful the businesses who produce them will switch to another packaging type, which will end up getting dumped instead. Even if new packaging is decomposable will take several months, if not years to break down.

As well as the major change to packaging materials the change to human habits needs a significant focus as well. 

How this is performed I have no idea, other than big PSA campaigns like those of the 70’s but I can’t see anyone willing to fund those in the near future.

Not really – those are all high street brands sold in your local supermarket

Well I thought SIS gels instead of McDonald’s packaging would suggest mtbers or trail runners maybe.

Anyway, it’s horrible.

I have been on a litter campaign recently and often go to 2 of my local woods with a bin bag and pick up litter while I walk the dogs.

Without doubt, the worst offenders and teenagers who hang around at jumps. They buy meal deals, sweets and crisps from the local Budgens and leave 90% of their litter next to the log they sit on to eat it.

You’re doing a good thing here, but it’s worth pointing out that this is exactly the language that Trash Free Trails are trying really hard to avoid. We’ve had years of telling people not to drop litter and the problem is still there, so a wider approach that focuses on producers and the whole narrative around responsible countryside use seems to be in order.

It’s interesting that all the products featured in the article are things would never be missed if  they didn’t exist. So why not ban the product?

The sports sponsorship of Red Bull might cause a few problems but most of the products are not particularly healthy.

My understanding was that we did have years of telling people not to drop their litter (Don’t be a litter bug etc etc) and that it had worked wonders to improve stuff, but that in the last twentyish years government spending on those kind of campaigns had nosedived, and we are back to where we were.

When I talk to young people it’s often amazing how it is just not even on their radar. Even a surprising amount of adults have parroted the “well there isn’t a bin here” line to me!

(I got a bit obsessed about litter during lockdown, becoming almost a local litter influencer, but it wasn’t doing my mental health any good).

You’re doing a good thing here, but it’s worth pointing out that this is exactly the language that Trash Free Trails are trying really hard to avoid. We’ve had years of telling people not to drop litter and the problem is still there, so a wider approach that focuses on producers and the whole narrative around responsible countryside use seems to be in order.

I get that but that takes time and by then, we will have lost access to the local woods. It is also a good lesson to the kids about being respectful to the environment around them and consequences of their actions. Hopefully between the 2, it will improve.

The ‘Litterbug’ was created as part of a Keep America Beautiful campaign, designed to stop people dropping litter. Or, perhaps – when you discover that KAB was created by the drinks industry in response to the banning of single use bottles and the introduction of a deposit return scheme  – to demonise the end user instead of the industry?

The  worst offenders are dog walkers and there dog mess bags ‘ I’ll pick it up on my wayback’ BS statement for leaving it whilst they go for a walk, to miraculously forgetting said bag of messed and it remaining hanging on the tree.

Stw’s very own version

Spring clean