What is happening to the Oceans,the Countryside,Towns and Cities.

[Tawnyowl]

I walk the Shoreline quite a lot.lonely but exciting.

Well i have noticed the amount of plastic and junk on our beaches.

I have taken pictures of maybe a hundred plastic bottles bobbing around in the sea,like they were dancing.

Took pictures,video,why i do not know,just looked odd.

 

Do not know where i put the pictures.I have hundreds of pictures of strange things.

I am not very organised,i know i should back them up computer,phone breaks and lose the lot.

Followed swans around for nearly a year taking pictures when they had their young,watched them grow,felt like we were mates, only to lose the lot.Videos everything.Very early in the morning i used to see them.

 

Also I collect Driftwood and other articles i find.

To make things and sell them on.

Motto is for every one thing i take i collect one piece of junk.And bin it.

So that is one job i have to make a few pounds.I also have another in the evening.And get by.

 

Propagate plants with the idea to sell them also.

Experimented on a auction site and had a little success.

 

Trouble is i find it hard to part with my collections.

I must have hundreds of plants,a devil to look after,keep in good condition.

And can not give up propagating more.

 

Perhaps i now have a ton or more of Driftwood as well which is not as many imagine all over the beaches.

Worth a few pounds just selling on but that is not going to happen any day soon.

Spent three years collecting so you can imagine how many journeys back and forwards i have made carrying it.

Backbreaking at times,wet,heavy,foul weather but of course beautiful scenery and probably keeps me fit.

 

Not just that i also collect sea glass and probably have a hundredweight of that at least.

As well as a few sack fulls of oyster shells,things like that.

 

I obviously have some sort of problem,perhaps i am a hoarder.

Just wondering whether any of you collect things,make something out of nothing.

Sell them on or can you not bear to part.

Are you a hoarder.

 

Now today i thought i would diversify and have a country walk.

Found a pathway and started not knowing where it went but knowing sooner or later i would find my way out.

Went on for miles.Nature,birds,ponds,trees noises really of spring arriving.

Nature and the countryside been round for thousands of years.Millions of years.

Since time began.

 

Then the sight that strange things have happened.

Plastic bags in the tree,ditches full of cans and junk of every kind.

Carrier bags and bin bags tied and just dropped,obviously on purpose.

They did not fly in.

Soon to be hid when vegetation growth begins,till autumn begins anyway.

A danger to nature.

 

Just wondering what it is like in your neck of the woods,your towns,cities.

Do you see plenty of rubbish around .

And the strangest thing i have seen for a while.A good while.

At the edge of a ditch,just in a very small clearing,a table set out with chairs and flowerpot as a centrepiece.

A strange old day again.

The picture

 

Have you any pictures of Spring arriving in your area.

Or any stories of things you collect or make,then find them hard to part with:-)

[Guest]

an interesting article re Japans ocean debris; motorbike in canada, football in alaska....

some debris expected to end up at the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a long-standing collection of marine debris.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35638091

[Tawnyowl]

Hi Ford.

Thanks for the links.Appreciate that.

Yesterday away from the coast walking looking around you have a little time to think about things.

Thinking to myself as i walked past trees,ditches,nature things like that how everything in nature seems sort itself out.No mess,everything seems recycled naturally.

And has since time began.

 

Then about 100 and odd years ago someone invents plastic.

I understand we advanced and invented many amazing things as should be.

But wondering if things carry on this way,what will things look like in another 100 years,twenty years even.

For future generations.

 

I have found plastic containers in the sea from many places,some floated from 500 miles away,did a little research to discover that, some further afield.

Even found a snooker table washed up,minus the felt.

Lead weights,fishing line,birds entangled.Burnt plastics,minute particles that are choking fish as they mistake it for food.And much more.

 

Now after yesterdays walk,the junk that is about is worrying to say the least.

I have seen the volunteers on the beaches picking the plastics and the rest up a few times a week.

Probably nationwide.Do a great job,unpaid volunteers.

Anyone who lives near the coast can volunteer.

A link,it could be fun as well and keep you fit.Only a couple of hours a week.

A link.

http://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/volunteers

Volunteer at a Beachwatch Beach Clean

Come on down to the beach!

But i bet the trash that is in the sea already would take hundreds of years to get rid of already.

 

Well for now maybe enough.Just having a chat.

Any links to this problem put them on.Any views,experiences.

Always interested.

Bye for now

Tawnyowl.

 

Plastic takes 400 years to degrade i read somewhere.

I even have pictures of junk i find.Definitely wondering why i take pictures of junk

May post a few pictures,maybe.Not everyone's cup of tea.I understand that.

[citizenB]

Plastic is probably one of the worst inventions as it is very difficult to dispose of. We already know of hte devastation wreaked by plastic carrier bags - however, I recently discovered that plastic bottles can be recycled into those little pellet things that are used for packing.

 

 

I was a little shocked to discover that recycled plastic can also be used for filling for pet beds !.

[Guest]

tawny

you mention plastic bags tied up in trees. are those the ones where dog owners/walkers, in some kind of (tenuous) protest, bag up their dogs' mess and then put it in a tree, or just leave it there, rather than binning it?

[Tawnyowl]

tawny

you mention plastic bags tied up in trees. are those the ones where dog owners/walkers, in some kind of (tenuous) protest, bag up their dogs' mess and then put it in a tree, or just leave it there, rather than binning it?

 

Yes i see that.On the beaches as well.Very decorative.

Also on my walks wherever they may be, it is quite obvious some if no one is around let their dogs let rip.Lack of bins in some places perhaps.Plastic of course.

Others always pick up.

A little story,only a little one,i know some of my stories go on a bit.

 

Moved in my house about 7 months ago.dark evenings,late sunrises.

Spent 6 months cleaning up my small patch of grass every day.At the front.

People early in the morning,and evening because it is dark think you do not notice or something like that.

Even watched one let dog out,walked over to grass,did business,walked back,amazingly owner opened door,let dog in.Instantly.

Must have been watching.

Sorted now,a camera helped in window,even if not working.That and giving a stare.Amazing how they move away when giving them a knowing look.

 

Apart from that sure i i heard last night on the radio that Brighton council have just given a company rights to fine people who drop litter.

75.00 Instant fines.

They will be carrying body cams,things like that.May need a couple of tasers as well.Things may heat up a touch.

In my town if this happened and was enforced,council would be debt free in a year or so.

But not have many tourists left perhaps.Would make millions.

Does anyone know more about this.First time i think,and no one knows what will happen.

 

Fly tippers,in your areas i do not know how it is for you,but strange how you feel as i saw yesterday,a nice hedgerow,ditch,plastic tub,plaster bags just conveniently lobbed out of vehicle.

Builder.Why?Problem solved,lazy so and so.Plan and it is no problem.

Plastic bag problem.Well a company has just gone bust not far from here.So maybe demand is weakening.

Now we perhaps just walk out with everything nicely wrapped in plastic,but no plastic carrier bag.

citizenB

Plastic is probably one of the worst inventions as it is very difficult to dispose of. We already know of hte devastation wreaked by plastic carrier bags - however, I recently discovered that plastic bottles can be recycled into those little pellet things that are used for packing.

 

 

I was a little shocked to discover that recycled plastic can also be used for filling for pet beds !.

Nice to see it has some uses.But one day,ends up in landfill.or shipped far away.To be recycled again causing more environmental damage.As it travels halfway across the world.

Never ending circle.

Bye for now.

 

One last thing,fly tipper in my area.Back alley.Last time i put it on,raises your blood pressure a touch.

[citizenB]

I think these little louts should be fined and also made to clear up the rubbish as well.

 

Those who don't clear up after their pets give responsible owners a bad name.

 

TO, we had a similar problem with dog owners letting their dogs use our front lawn as a public convenience. The times I have shot out with a carrier bag and demanded they clean up after them - we don't seem to get as many nowadays !

 

As for fly tippers.. don't get me started !!

[Tawnyowl]

When you see it happen it is hard to decide what to do.

Do you go out and confront them,which sometimes does not take to long before tempers can rise and you put them,the mess,and the owner in the nearest bin.

End up before the magistrate that way perhaps.

Of course you give the dog a biscuit,it is not their fault.

 

Or try to remain calm and work out things another way.Camera,and things like the knowing look.

Both can work.

What does anyone do to combat the problem.Tell us the secret.

[Tawnyowl]

I mentioned Brighton council putting out tenders for fining people for dropping litter.

Found a little detail on this.

A PRIVATE company has sent its staff on to the streets of Brighton and Hove for the first time in a crackdown on litter bugs.

Enforcement officers are equipped with body cameras to gather evidence and identify offenders fly-tipping, littering, flyposting, graffiti, dog fouling and disposing of commercial waste illegally.

 

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14339811.Litterbug_crackdown_patrols_launched_in_Brighton_and_Hove/?commentSort=score

[tobyjugg2]

I think its nothing short of a disgrace that people can't pick up their rubbish, and at least put their animals feces (whether dog or horse) at least into the hedgerow where it will do the plants some good and lessen the risk of health and mess problems for others.

 

and its not just dogs and dog owners

I was walking along a narrow footpath when a pair of horses came the other way, and one dumped a huge load all over the footpath.

 

I pointed this out out to be sharply told they were entitled to and it was valuable.

I responded that I was entitled to jump up and down and wave my arms around shouting on the footpath, but I didn't in deference to other people and animals using the path,

and if it was so valuable they should have no issues with taking the small effort required in clearing up what they considered a valuable product, but others might consider an offensive nuisance.

 

She just pretty much forced her way past me on the horse.

I was very very tempted.

[unclebulgaria67]

Add a tax to packaging to make it less attractive to producers and shoppers.

 

My local common seems to be a litter bin for young drivers, where they park to eat MacDonalds in their cars, before driving out to the villages where they live.

 

Also make the food outlets responsible for paying for waste bins where their companies packaging is found littered.

[Tawnyowl]

I see from the last two posts how this problem is winding people up.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Brighton.It has not been done before.Just wish it was happening in my town.

As for McDonalds.The bins are there for all to see.

I have witnessed four people having their burgers then launching it all out onto the floor within close reach of the bins.Then driving off.

And as said if driving away,littering elsewhere.

There is a big problem out there.Everywhere.

Fining people 75 pounds may make some think twice.I will watch as things develop in Brighton with interest.

 

I must go now,got to clear up after last nights visitors to my grass.Despite 50 pound fine notices everywhere.

What do you think of littering in your city town,village,hamlet.

Just notice though i do not see much of them the drive on footpath cleaners have had weedkiller attachments added.Two jobs in one.Another few people out of a job.

Technology and robots are coming to whip away your jobs.

[Guest]

 

As for fly tippers.. don't get me started !!

same

and the dog ****ters

[Tawnyowl]

Just a quick post.For anyone who is sick of seeing fly tipping, dumped mattresses,dog mess,pot holes and the rest and have a mobile and are into apps.

In any area of Great Britain just take a photo and release the anger you are feeling,off it pops and is reported to your council.

 

Love Clean Streets has proven benefits for both residents and local authorities:

 

Evidence from Lewisham, where it all started, shows that complaints about graffiti fell by 30% within two years, and the amount and frequency of graffiti observed in the borough fell by 8%. Clean-up times have been cut dramatically and resident satisfaction with the Council’s street cleaning services has significantly increased.

 

For local authorities, the reduced cost of casework associated with the Love Clean Streets application generates a healthy return on investment.

 

For everyone else, the benefit is simply a better, cleaner place to live and work.

http://www.lovecleanstreets.com/help/about

 

 

Video

Want to report an environmental issue? Use Love Clean Streets! The UKs leading and most used environmental reporting service

 

It's simple to make an environmental report

We make sure your reports reach the right team within the correct authority

http://www.lovecleanstreets.com/reports/home

 

How Does This Work?

http://www.lovecleanstreets.com/help

If anyone uses it let us know how you get on.

And if enough people use it a few jobs could be created.Who knows.

[Tawnyowl]

Beware the Litter Stasi: How new scourge of the High Street are hired by councils to fine you up to £80 for dropping a shop receipt or a cherry stone

Private security staff patrol streets issuing fines for small misdemeanours

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3334402/Beware-litter-Stasi-new-scourge-High-Street-hired-councils-fine-80-dropping-shop-receipt-cherry-stone.html#ixzz45oItJJZ

 

Do you have these in your area.Private contractors fining people for dropping litter.

Read somewhere that a company hit the streets somewhere in the last month and dished out 7000 fines in the first week.

Do you know where.?

 

After Kingston 'litter police' video goes viral council figures reveal they have fined 1,507 smokers but only one dog fouler since June

http://www.kingstonguardian.co.uk/news/14413455.After_Kingston__litter_police___video_goes_viral_council_figures_reveal_they_have_fined_1_507_smokers_but_only_one_dog_fouler_since_June/

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2miu0VLhGE

[Guest]

there shld be less plastic bags around...

'Plastic bag use has plummeted in England since the introduction of a 5p charge last year, the government has said.......If that trend were to continue over the year this would be a drop of 83%......'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36917174