Litter has negative impacts on communities in several ways. It costs local authorities £65 million per year to clean up. Litter can be dangerous and unhealthy for both people and wildlife. Heavily littered areas can lead to more problems like vandalism. While fines can be issued for littering, volunteers are still needed to clean up existing litter. Individual actions like properly disposing of rubbish, volunteering to pick up litter, and reporting heavily littered areas can make a positive difference. Working to address litter issues can benefit both communities and individuals looking to gain skills.

1. Litter – There’s No Excuse
The Effects
Litter looks awful and can be smelly and dirty. For people who
have lived in an area all their lives, especially the elderly,
seeing their community going downhill and looking like a tip
can seriously affect their mental health and contribute to
depression.
It costs Local Authorities somewhere in the region of £65
million a year. Those clean-up costs are met through the
Council Tax, which every homeowner pays.
Litter can be dangerous, unhealthy, and it can persist in the
environment for a very long time. Rubbish, such as plastic bags or half-drunk cider
bottles, can also trap, suffocate, strangle and poison wildlife.
If an area is heavily littered, it can lead to the ‘broken window’ effect – more litter,
dumping of rubbish, flyposting, graffiti and vandalism.
Local communities and the people who live there can be very badly affected. It
can also have a damaging effect on the local economy and on tourism. A
cleaner Elgin attracts more visitors, which means more money is spent and jobs
created, benefitting everyone.
Your responsibility
There really is no excuse for dropping fag packets, chewing
gum, bottles, sandwich wraps or any form of litter. So, we
must make sure we are not part of the problem and dispose
of any rubbish properly, placing it carefully in the nearest bin.
Be careful as Fixed Penalty Notices of £50 can be issued by
local council staff or the police for anyone caught littering.
However, even if everyone stopped littering tomorrow, there
would still be a mountain of rubbish already out there that
required an army of volunteers to roll-up their sleeves and
help sort-out the mess. That’s where we can all do a little or a lot to make a real
difference to our communities.
Your opportunity
All we really need is a pair of garden gloves to protect our
hands (cost one or two quid), plastic bags (free - recycled
from your local shop) and a willing heart. When we’re out
walking from home to work, or the shops, look out for
whatever we can do. Don’t forget to stuff a few empty bags in
your pockets as you will be shocked how quickly they fill-up.
Then dispose of these as soon as you can in your nearest
rubbish receptacle. Added benefits include enjoying fresh
air, exercise and a real sense of achievement. We are
reclaiming and cleaning-up our own communities or green
spaces.

2. Depending on your personality, you could get together
with a group of friends and enjoy some on-the-job
banter, or plug yourself into some upbeat music on the
move. You can find out more about the situation in
your area at www.litteraction.org.uk/, register your
interest and maybe even join a “Waste-Watchers”
group. When we see someone drop litter, we should
feel empowered to correct their bad habit and politely
point them in the direction of a bin.
Joining the campaign would also be an excellent
addition to any C.V. This simple action would demonstrate that you care about
your environment, possess a strong sense of responsibility and are willing to take
the initiative to solve problems. These are all skills employers look for when hiring
new workers.
If we see an area where there is lots of litter, then we
can also email our local authority directly,
waste@moray.gov.uk, pinpointing exactly where the
problem is and calling in extra assistance. There are
laws to force businesses to clean-up industrial sites that
they own or, if a fast food chain, do more to stop their
products becoming pollutants.
For those who persist in dropping litter, the best
argument against their selfish indifference is to show
mercy and actually help solve the problem. Quite
possibly, they may even be shamed into stopping when
they see whole communities, or even brave individuals,
taking positive action. Remember, all that is required for
evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. As
someone once said, everybody assumed that somebody would do what anybody
could do, but in the end nobody did anything!
The key is to start where we are and do
whatever we can. Obviously, we all
have different amounts of physical
strength and varying demands on our
time, so no-one has the right to judge
anyone else. There are plenty of other
issues and opportunities to serve
wherever you are, so please be
encouraged to make the most of
whatever chances you have to help
other people and look after our
wonderful world.