On 16/01/2024 09:47 pm, Simon Mason wrote:
National Highways conducts regular research to better understand why people litter from vehicles, and what might change this, before focusing efforts on changing behaviour.
Well, they could, perhaps, provide more, larger and more
conveniently-located litter-bins and EMPTY THEM FREQUENTLY. A full bin
isn't serving its purpose.
The whole of Europe under-provides litter disposal bin capacity as a
roadside facility. It can be a serious problem at lay-bys, rest areas,
picnic sites, etc.
Freda said: "Last year we asked Keep Britain Tidy to undertake some research for us to find out more about who litters on our roads and why.
"There were several focus groups - it's quite surprising that people do admit to littering for various reasons. 16% of drivers said that they had disposed of an item of rubbish from a vehicle window. The proportion of people who admitted to littering
from a vehicle window increased among people with children under the age of four, and those who use our road network more often. By far, fruit cores and peels are what most people admit to throwing out their window. This is likely due to the perceived
lack of harm from littering these items. Cigarette butts are the items most frequently littered, with 12% of the respondents saying they disposed of these from their vehicle window monthly. We're now working on targeted interventions to tackle these
specific issues."
There is NO harm accruing from throwing an apple core into a hedgerow.
The item will soon be consumed by nature in one way or another (which is
always the best we can hope for).
It isn't like a chav-cyclist throwing a gel-pack onto a rural route or
an urban footway. Still less like a chav-cyclist defecating on a Surrey
village green.
Driving understanding and behavioural change among the public is clearly central to success. When it comes to how, Geoff said: "The bins and poster campaigns - warning people of the dangers of littering and encouraging awareness – funded by National
Highways are helpful. Educating the public and changing behaviour at a grassroots level, such as in schools, also makes a difference."
litter road HedgehogOutside taking direct action to stop littering, Freda also discusses the positive opportunities for protecting wildlife around the road network: "As a significant landowner, National Highways has an important role to play in
increasing biodiversity around our road network. Our verges and green areas provide homes to a rich and diverse range of species, vital to a healthy ecosystem. They also create invaluable green corridors which connect different habitats. A great example
is our work around the A30 and A38 in Devon and Cornwall, where we've planted over 10,000 native trees and shrubs to fill gaps in the hedgerow and woodland. This has provided around three extra miles of vegetation and connected more than 105 miles of
habitat along the roadside."
All well and good. But absolutely nothing to do with littering, whether
by chav-cyclists or anyone else.
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