On the trail of the nation’s litter bugs

Aug 11 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

On tonight’s Panorama writer Bill Bryson will reveal the extent of Britain’s litter problem ... it’s an issue that’s very close to home, as ANDREW BALDWIN reports

‘Of the people who litter, high proportions can be persuaded to change their ways, and that’s what gives me hope.’

WHEN writer Bill Bryson first arrived in Britain in 1972, he thought he’d found the loveliest, most cared for country in the world.

His massive bestseller Notes From a Small Island celebrated the intrinsic worth of our thoroughly pleasant isle and won the national poll to find the book which best represented modern England.

So, how is modern England doing? Reporting for BBC’s Panorama tonight, Bryson says in a personal and passionate account he’s appalled at how we now treat our surroundings like a rubbish tip and castigates our apparent inability to walk or drive anywhere without leaving a trail of litter.

He tours the country, illustrating the scale of the problem, while also demonstrating change can be achieved and that we should not despair of the task.

“Travelling for Panorama I was reminded just how beautiful this country is and also how routinely trashed it is by people that litter and fly-tip,” says Bryson.

“Studies show that it’s done by a very small proportion of people, and of the people who litter, high proportions can be persuaded to change their ways, and that’s what gives me hope.”

As president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Bryson believes he’s just the man to challenge us to clean up our act and, more importantly, to clean up Britain.

He has launched a three-year Stop the Drop crusade against litter and fly-tipping.

John Denham, of CPRE Kirklees, lives in the shadow of Castle Hill and knows just what the author means.

“I can see one glaring example out of my window. Looking over to Farnley Tyas, someone has dumped a load of fridges in the middle of a field,” he sighs.

It’s eyesores like this which have led John to give all his backing to the campaign launched by Bill Bryson.

The local branch of CPRE had a stand at this month’s Emley Show and was surprised that more people were interested in the littering and rubbish problem than in saving the green belt, although they wanted to do that too.

Photographs by branch member Joan Blencowe illustrated what campaigners are up against in their struggle to keep England beautiful.

“There are so many bad examples out there and in the end we only took two to highlight at the show,” John explains.

“There was the Farnley Tyas one and Harrison Lane at Crosland Heath, where there is a big pile of tyres.”

John complains that the littering problem is getting worse and worse, with figures showing a 500% increase in littering since the 1960s.

In the UK, an estimated 25 million tonnes of litter is dropped a year, almost entirely food and drink packaging.

John says: “It seems we’re almost incapable of going out and simply bringing the rubbish back to put in the bin.

“Almost everywhere you go you see it. I was going up Long Lane near my home the other day and there this stuff was, just dumped over the wall.

“Not only does it detract from the landscape, but it has also led to a huge increase in rates and it is dangerous to animals, both domestic and wildlife.”

Kirklees Council is pretty good in responding to complaints when the rubbish is on its land or the public highway, he says.

But a lengthy set of procedures has to be gone through when it is on private land. In the Farnley Tyas case, the fridges will remain until the farmer has finished harvesting.

Bill Bryson has proved to be a very effective president in raising public awareness of the issue, says John.

“We are urging people to write to their MPs, councils and councillors and, of course, to make sure they deposit their own rubbish in the correct place.

“Above all, we want to ask: ‘Why are you dropping it?’ We need to challenge those who do it.”

Panorama: Notes on a Dirty Island, BBC One: 8.30pm today.