Over the past year people have taken to the outdoors much more frequently in order to get their daily dose of exercise. This may be good for our own health but it has had dire affects on the environment.

Multiple charities have carried out research in to the amount of littering done across the whole of the UK. inyourarea.co.uk teamed up with Clean up Britain to create the campaign: ‘Don’t trash our future’. The campaign has received support far and wide, including from tv presenter and journalist Jeremy Paxman and former JLS star, JB Gibbs.

inyourarea.co.uk found that 99% of respondents from Huddersfield admitted there is a problem with the amount of littering. 55% regarding it as a big problem and 28% a major problem. The ‘Don’t trash our future’ campaign is hoping to change habits around littering, even setting up a petition urging councils to enforce fines to those who litter. Research shows of the 169 Councils that responded, 56% issue less than one fine per week. The current fine is a penalty of £75 to £150, yet the petition urges this amount to be increased to £1000 or 100 hours of community service. 97% of respondents agreed that the council should enforce the law on littering more strongly.

A local Huddersfield way resident said he has seen a definite increase in litter along paths and in bushes over the course of lockdown, but especially in the last few weeks. He said “It does make you sad, you go out and see needless discarded rubbish. You’d think people would have more respect.” The survey carried out on behalf of the campaign showed that littering has a negative impact on the majority of walkers. 55% of people said seeing litter made them angry whilst 20% said it made them feel sad and depressed.

Now, with masks being a compulsory measure for the fight against Coronavirus, there’s a new litter on the streets. PPE. Although many people opt for a reusable mask, disposable masks as well as other sanitary products are being found around every corner. Online, people have used #discardedmasks to show their findings and fury towards the improper disposal of PPE. It causes concern not only for fellow walkers as the virus may live on items for up to a week but also  wildlife that can get trapped in the rubbish. 

Litter at entrance to a popular walking route 

Photo credit: Lucy Von Emloh

The cure to combat litter strewn streets is community commitment

Mirfield, which is a small town just outside of Huddersfield, has shown that community effort is the remedy to this growing issue. The town has won gold two years on the trot in the regional competition ‘Yorkshire in Bloom’ and has been asked to represent in the national competition ‘Britain in Bloom’ due to regular litter picks and other factors, such as replacing graffiti with street art inspired by the town. A reflection of the hard work and commitment of both the Mirfield in Bloom committee and all of the volunteers from the town.

Town inspired street art by the train station , apart of Mirfield in Bloom

Photo credit: Christine Sykes

In the last litter pick which took place socially distanced in September, Christine Sykes, a member of the Mirfield in Bloom committee said “We had access to 3 skips and we filled them all in the weekend, which just goes to show how many people turned out. It sounds good because you think wow, you’ve done all of this but then you are so depressed because it was necessary.”

When asked about her thoughts on littering, Christine said; “People complain about graffiti but litter is just portable graffiti in my opinion. I do think more needs to be done, yes.”

Flower display St. Mary’s church in Mirfield, apart of Mirfield in Bloom

Photo credit: Christine Sykes

Charities as well as fellow walkers are urging people to follow the country side code: ‘Leave no trace of your visit and take all rubbish home.’

To sign the petition and help ‘Clean up Britain’ head over to: https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/dont-trash-our-future/

By Lucy von Emloh