Retail Park Disgrace

[Tosh]

Have been up to the retail park today an over the weekend and the mess that is lying around form fag ends to soiled nappies, there only seems to be one bin around and that is outside New Look, what a nice look that represents to visitors to wick. Staff are surely eating drinking and smoking outside the stores, do they not have staff rooms to eat in? Do they not need to provide smoking bins outside for their staff? Who is responsible for keeping the park clean???? Surely these firms could afford to put some proper rubbish bins outside their store, I know a good DIY store that can supply them not to far away. Please someone try and tidy up this eyesore.

[spurtle]

I had wondered if anyone else had noticed.The streets of wick have never been great especially after school break when the dust cart seems to follow the kids.The other day I saw a young girl drink a can of juice then throw it at the side of the road outside Lidls.I don't know how anyone can throw litter it seems to be a real problem up here, is it that people don't care about their surroundings? I would hate to think that our nick name was justified.

[sjwahwah]

in dundee last week.. i saw a bloke just firin' out crisp packets and drinks tins out the window of his car... really annoyed me.. gave him the annoyed gesture too.. don't know what people are thinkin' about.

[badger]

Have been up to the retail park today an over the weekend and the mess that is lying around form fag ends to soiled nappies, there only seems to be one bin around and that is outside New Look, what a nice look that represents to visitors to wick. Staff are surely eating drinking and smoking outside the stores, do they not have staff rooms to eat in? Do they not need to provide smoking bins outside for their staff? Who is responsible for keeping the park clean???? Surely these firms could afford to put some proper rubbish bins outside their store, I know a good DIY store that can supply them not to far away. Please someone try and tidy up this eyesore.

Couldn't agree more. I was there on Sunday and it was disgusting. The one litter bin overflowing and the rubbish round it being carried down the slope. Whatever happened to "take your litter home"? Most people there must be in cars and it's not so difficult to keep a plastic bag for rubbish. If the staff are partly responsible then let's hope some of them are reading this. The ground is already being spattered with chewing gum. Why do we have these filthy habits in Britain? Other countries have a culture of not throwing rubbish down so why can't we? Even cigarette ends are litter but nobody seems to think twice about just dropping them. Yuk :mad:

[George Brims]

This litter issue is about the only thing on which I agreed wholeheartedly with Margaret Thatcher. Coming on to London by car from Heathrow it struck her one day what a litter-lout people we Brits are. I don't know what she ever did but I remember her making a fuss about it. I haven't been anywhere else where people are as messy (no doubt someone will chip in that people in country X are as bad, but two wrongs don't make a right, didn't your mammy tell you that?).

I remember also that Barbara whatsername, the dog training woman (Walkies!) talking about some bloke littering in her wee village as she was out walking her dogs. He dropped a fag end out the window and she picked it up and dropped in back in, saying "We don't need that here". Unfortunately for him it was still lit and he was wearing shorts!

[brandy]

i know that back home it is illegal to litter and you will be fined for it and they are quite strict.. if a police man sees you throw litter out of a car window they will pull you over and give you a ticket... can you image the look on peeps face here to be given a £65 pound fine here.. for dropping their rubbish?

[bosco]

Down here in Fife we have litter patrols who go round looking for people fly tipping , dropping litter, and also for not picking up there dogs mess, they get a £50 fine if caught .

[ywindy]

Have been up to the retail park today an over the weekend and the mess that is lying around form fag ends to soiled nappies, there only seems to be one bin around and that is outside New Look, what a nice look that represents to visitors to wick. Staff are surely eating drinking and smoking outside the stores, do they not have staff rooms to eat in? Do they not need to provide smoking bins outside for their staff? Who is responsible for keeping the park clean???? Surely these firms could afford to put some proper rubbish bins outside their store, I know a good DIY store that can supply them not to far away. Please someone try and tidy up this eyesore.

It is not the lack of bins, or the responsibility of the stores, for the rubbish in the streets, it is the people who put it there who are responsible. Many years ago a law was passed to fine litter louts £10. Does anyone know of any prosecution for littering? Why is this not enforced? What keeps the Thurso bobbies so busy that they can't check out Princes Street at school lunchtime for flagrant lawbreaking and by a little enforcement possibly eliminate the litter?
ywindy

[moonshadow]

Hubby and I were there on wednesday, and the place was quite a state......and yeah, we saw the one and only bin...and as Hubby passed it he noticed...guess what???? Yup!! it was EMPTY!!!
Far too easy to just throw your litter on the ground than walk a few yards to a bin!!

And while I'm on my soapbox....what about the bottle banks??? Why bother to walk up to the bank with your bags of bottles, then be so friggin lazy that you just leave the bags sitting there rather than spend about 30 seconds dropping them through the correct holes!!!

Rant over!!!!:eek:
Still seething though![evil]

[sjwahwah]

I think a big part of the reason is there is so much rubbish anyways! what's up with tomatoes and avocadoes coming in plastic trays and plastic wrapping?? if I have to go to Sainsburys or the like.. I take all the packaging off everything and leave it there for them to sort out.. its stupid, lavish and most of all expensive, dependent on the petrochemical industry and is only creating MORE rubbish and why is this country so behind the times on recycling?

It's kinda crazy really that they might give people fines for throwing a plastic soda bottle on the ground rather than the rubbish bin.. when they just come and pick up the rubbish bin and put it in the ground somewhere else in a landfill. Maybe they need to start giving fines for litter to compensate for meeting wages of more emplyees working in the waste disposal service?:roll:

[Kaishowing]

.....Maybe they need to start giving fines for litter to compensate for meeting wages of more emplyees working in the waste disposal service?:roll:

Not that I think you're wrong, but as someone earlier in the thred said (ywindy)When was the last time you heard of anyone being prosecuted for littering??? Not just here, but EVER???
And going off on a slight tangent, what about the dog crap fines??? It's all well and good puting up those wee signs telling how much the fine is, but it's just a waste of time and money unless it's enforced![evil]

[sjwahwah]

yes.. i've offered a grand idea.. two of them in fact... quit selling more rubbish and recycle more.. what's your solution?? I've only heard you winge!

dog crap is only the result of people not taking full responsibility of their pets... whether there are bins provided for it or not.. should not make a bit of difference if people used their heads.

[Ricco]

Those of you who have read Douglas Adams books will no doubt have been aware of the S.E.P. field (Someone Elses' Problem) that he postulated might exist. It was actually developed in England and is widely practiced there.

When one of these culprits is tackled there is complete and utter amazement, followed by righteous indignation and often violent anger. Their SEP field convinces them that someone else was the true culprit and that they themselves are completely innocent.

There is only one known cure for the SEP effect - hefty fines that impose severe pain in the wallet. :lol:

[Kaishowing]

yes.. i've offered a grand idea.. two of them in fact... quit selling more rubbish and recycle more..

So you're claiming them as all your very own?? Fancy that!! Perhaps you can get a spot on Mastermind with your expert subject being 'the bleeding obvious!'


what's your solution?? I've only heard you winge!


A bit of common sense, and a sense of pride in your surroundings I suppose would be the solution..but I'm not claiming them as original ideas!
As for the bins, looking around for a bin when you have some rubbish and not finding one and being forced to carry it around until you spot one...so the lack of bins can make a difference.
But I'll leave it to the one-person think-tank to solve the problem for humanity.:lol:

[Ricco]

Recycling is dead easy if your local council are supportive; if they aren't ask them why! If I buy something in a tin or plastic container I always take it home and add it to my recycling box.

[Bobinovich]

An avid recycler myself I've been, at times, ridiculed by family & friends for trying to do my bit. In addition to the council-supplied paper/can boxes & garden clippings bins, I have plastic stacking boxes for glass, cardboard, bits of wood, etc. which I transfer to the boot of my car and take to the recycling centre. In total it takes me 10 - 15 minutes inc. travel once every 2 weeks or so.

Where's the problem?

[sjwahwah]

sadly bobinovich... alot of people are not as dedicated as yourself! good for you though!

[sjwahwah]

So you're claiming them as all your very own?? Fancy that!! Perhaps you can get a spot on Mastermind with your expert subject being 'the bleeding obvious!'



A bit of common sense, and a sense of pride in your surroundings I suppose would be the solution..but I'm not claiming them as original ideas!
As for the bins, looking around for a bin when you have some rubbish and not finding one and being forced to carry it around until you spot one...so the lack of bins can make a difference.
But I'll leave it to the one-person think-tank to solve the problem for humanity.:lol:

call it as you'll see it... why jump into a thread spitting your own garbage with no solution to the topic of the thread? it's called forum pollution.

more bins.. that's your solution??? grand.

[Kaishowing]

I never claimed to have a solution to the problem unlike some.
I've been recycling whenever possible for the last 30 years or so, but that's not what teh thread was about.
Like I believe you said earlier, this country is at least 15-20 years behind any other recycling programmes that have been introduced in Europe, and until local authorities set up far more recycling centers, we'll continue to be one of teh most wasteful countries in Europe.

As for my solution.... bins would help.....as like I said earlier the thread was originally about the state of the new retail park and people's lack of thought, before you sent it down the recycling route.
1 bin for a public area that size isn't enough.

But you want to talk about recycling.....
"quit selling more rubbish and recycle more"
okay.............I think that was assumed as pretty obvious as you may have gathered from my rather fatuous comments earlier.
How do you convinvince the average family to fit recycling into a hectic schedule if they've no clue about how to begin??
Better yet, how do you convice the multi-national companies that they have to cut down on the excessive packaging in just about everything?

It's an uphill struggle as it all boils down to money....money for someone who makes all these packets, trays, boxes etc......and money from councils who need to set up recycling programmes for homes an businesses.

Bottom line is, you have to make it either worth people's while to do it, or make it so easy that it's not going to put them out to do it.

Not easy to initiate.
(Now it's my turn to state the obvious....But I make no claims of having any answers)

I take care of my household's rubbish as much as I can given that the local council's only recycling about 35% of what it could....and that's what I consider to be 'My bit' for the enviroment.

http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/

[sjwahwah]

everybodies life is hectic.. I'm saying regardless if there are bins there people should not be throwing rubbish on the ground...your saying the problem is that people throw it on the ground because theres no bins?

and yes, I do believe recycling goes hand in hand with the issue... they should not be selling ANYTHING that cannot be reused or recycled or as I say... what's the difference if it's on the ground in the retail park or in a landfill.. out of sight out of mind is the ONLY difference...

sadly, no matter how easy they might make recycling be.. some people will not do it. in parts of america they will refuse to pick up your garbage if it is not separated and recycled.. and you have to pay for special bags for them to take your garbage away.. then of course some people turn to dumping it in ditches or the forest or burn it. In venezuela.. as far as litter they pay people by the bag for rubbish they collect... but it's still goes in the landfill. so, I believe the only solution is to disallow unnesscessary packaging... and one way to start the ball rolling is leaving the packaging behind at the store...

[George Brims]

Here's the California perspective on recycling. Up in thr Northern end they started this way ahead of us down here, but eventually (maybe 10 years ago) we were switched to wheely bins and we now have three, one for the true rubbish, one for recycling, and one for garden refuse. The council and the rubbish company had to be talked into this idea, but quickly found they were making money off it. The garden stuff gets shredded and turned into compost and mulch, and they sell a lot of it to farms. The recycle bin gets all our paper refuse, steel cans, plus every drink container that doesn't have a deposit, while we have containers of our own for the stuff that gets us money. Instead of a bottle bank a Cal supermarket will have a guy who pays you by the pound for the beer bottles, cans and plastic bottles. Nag your councillors to get on the ball with this. There is truth in the old N of England saying, where there's muck there's brass. Imagine how much compost you could make in a year if all the garden refuse from Wick and Thurso was thrown in one pile.

[sjwahwah]

Here's the California perspective on recycling. Up in thr Northern end they started this way ahead of us down here, but eventually (maybe 10 years ago) we were switched to wheely bins and we now have three, one for the true rubbish, one for recycling, and one for garden refuse. The council and the rubbish company had to be talked into this idea, but quickly found they were making money off it. The garden stuff gets shredded and turned into compost and mulch, and they sell a lot of it to farms. The recycle bin gets all our paper refuse, steel cans, plus every drink container that doesn't have a deposit, while we have containers of our own for the stuff that gets us money. Instead of a bottle bank a Cal supermarket will have a guy who pays you by the pound for the beer bottles, cans and plastic bottles. Nag your councillors to get on the ball with this. There is truth in the old N of England saying, where there's muck there's brass. Imagine how much compost you could make in a year if all the garden refuse from Wick and Thurso was thrown in one pile.

in edinburgh.. they do the same with the garden rubbish.. tis great idea.. and they now have schemes to get your own compost bin.. surprising how much less rubbish you have using the compost bins and great for the tomatoes! :)

[canuck]

Recycling is dead easy if your local council are supportive; if they aren't ask them why! If I buy something in a tin or plastic container I always take it home and add it to my recycling box.

In the beginning and for many years recycling here was "dead easy." But it has become very complicated in some communities. I stayed for 3 weeks while I was moving with a friend in the next city. I was so confused about which of 5 bins to put the garbage in that I just gave up. Eventually I stuffed it all into a black plastic bag and took it to the local dump myself. I know that I was wrong in doing so, but I keep falling back on my old defense: "I used cloth diapers when I had young children. I am still entitled to a bit of space at the landfill site."

[badger]

According to a letter in the Groat today, bottle banks have been removed from Thurso town centre. Anyone know why?
I've been trying to buy bio-degradeable bin bags but couldn't find any this week - all plastic bags should be. It's crazy. Think unwrapping stuff and leaving the packaging in the shops sounds like a good idea - wonder if they'd get the message?
I nearly always have a struggle to avoid bags at the checkout as I have some very old trolley bags so don't need anything else but the checkout staff are trained to pack for you. That's a problem I have with charity bag-packing - it just encourages people to use the shop bags. I know it raises lots of money for charity but it also does a lot of damage to the environment.

[bagpuss]

Our traffic warden is doing a sterling job, stopping people from parking on Bridge street etc. We need to clone him and set him loose as a litter warden-a few stiff fines and we'd soon see a difference. pay him by results- and the incentive would be even better.