Author Topic: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish  (Read 4306 times)

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #25 on: 16 January, 2020, 10:44:27 am »
I have volunteered on the Recyling Crew at Glastonbury for a few years.
Now I'd like to think of myself as reasonably aware of what's going on, but was astounded at the amount of these that we picked up. Thousands of the things.
Admittedly we were working down in Naughty Corner where all of the clubs are.
The other thing that struck me was that I only saw one person sucking a balloon over the weekend.

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #26 on: 16 January, 2020, 11:08:08 am »
On a short ride today that went over the ranges I was horrified to see a very large number of CO2 cartridges (soda stream, tyre inflator type) in the verges and on the carriageway over several miles.  There were also a large number of boxes that probably contained 12 cartridges scattered around as well.  The dozens (could have been in the hundreds TBH) of Stella cans, fast food wrappers, pop bottles etc I can understand (well I can't but you get my drift) but the CO2 cartridges - what is going on??

This is a road away from habitation with only outdoor pursuits, MTB, dog walking and so on, to attract people to the area.

Am I showing my sheltered upbringing again?
We're at that time of year when the vegetation in the hedgerows and verges are at their thinnest and its shocking to see the amount of junk that is deposited by motorists (and probably some cyclists) There does seem to be a 2-3 mile  out of town hot spot of fast food wrappers and drinks cans, presumably this is the distance to drive and consume at which point the window is wound down and the packaging jettisoned.  (anyone ever been tempted by a bit of pitsa in the hedge?  No, O'well must only be me, I'm a hungry soul)

It is always quite surprising and equally disturbing at the amount of car parts near tight bends - why can't they pick up all the snappy off plastic bits that they leave behind after they have been through the hedge.


ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #27 on: 16 January, 2020, 11:30:39 am »
It's like the people who evidently munch through their KFC from our town centre and within ten metres of the only bin on the street throw the residue in a bush. I'm also surprised by the number of people who buy a coffee from Costa and instead of drinking it, carry it halfway home and then leave it, still undrunk, balanced on a wall. Fair amount of McDonalds stuff and we don't even have a McDonalds near by, I assume that's drivers chucking it out, though it's a bit odd because the nearest one is still miles away so surely they'd eat it somewhere closer. Maybe we should make fast food vendors liable for their own litter.

Basil

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Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #28 on: 16 January, 2020, 11:42:01 am »
I know pretty accurately the length of time that it takes to eat a kebab.  It takes exactly the same time as it takes to walk from the kebab shop to the front of my house.  >:(
I always think it odd that litter bins are sited right by the door of chip shops and other fast food outlets.  How many people finish eating as they step out into the street?
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #29 on: 16 January, 2020, 12:18:21 pm »
My understanding is that for local authorities to grant permission for such fast food entities they have to demonstrate a 'litter plan' and what you are seeing is this 'litter plan' in action. A bin outside.

They should have a wider responsibility for both the litter they cause and the endless parking problems (our local KFC is on the roundabout, so you can guess where people park and the results of that).

In other news, the local school is back, so I'm on litter duty again. Sigh. I'm not sure how we got to be a country that doesn't give a shit about stuff like this.

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #30 on: 16 January, 2020, 12:44:29 pm »
My understanding is that for local authorities to grant permission for such fast food entities they have to demonstrate a 'litter plan' and what you are seeing is this 'litter plan' in action. A bin outside.

They should have a wider responsibility for both the litter they cause and the endless parking problems (our local KFC is on the roundabout, so you can guess where people park and the results of that).

In other news, the local school is back, so I'm on litter duty again. Sigh. I'm not sure how we got to be a country that doesn't give a shit about stuff like this.
On a positive note, me and the wife have been picking plastic junk up off our favourite beach for decades,   and since the wonderful 'blue planet' series of a couple of years ago when the realities of plastics in our seas was brought into our living rooms.  Visible plastics has largely disappeared from our beach, I guess many other people are now clearing it away. or may be not leaving it in the first place.    (carrier bag laws have helped enormously too)

a small place in hell needs to be created for the dog walkers who bag it then leave the plastic turd containing bag on the beach.  I would rather they just didn't pick up, the tide and elements would see it gone sharpish, but left in its plastic back they are preserving it for years / centuries. what is wrong with their mindset.

ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #31 on: 16 January, 2020, 01:10:33 pm »
It's the local school that bugs me. They're just not bothered. Send the same copy-and-paste response if you grink them (apparently the pupils did a 'litter pick' on the Queen's birthday and they'd sorry that a 'small minority of pupils' continue to make a mess – it's not a small minority). The back entrance the school literally looks like a rubbish tip.

Given all the current awareness of plastic pollution etc, some of which might have hoped to seep into the younger generation, it's evident that really that they don't care, which makes more than a little pessimistic for our future. I guess they'll turn into their parents.

Kim

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Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #32 on: 16 January, 2020, 01:56:42 pm »
carrier bag laws have helped enormously too

They've certainly improved matters in my local hedgerows.  These days, plastic bags are mostly a shared path dog-emptier thing, with (fly-tipping excepted) the motorists discarding their rubbish in its unwrapped state.

The verges are still full of litter, but at least it's unlikely to blow into my derailleur.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #33 on: 16 January, 2020, 02:10:20 pm »
I think we've always been a country that doesn't give a shit about litter. Well, since the 1970s at least. In some respects we're quite a bit better than back then. Not just plastic bag laws, dog shit laws have helped too. Yes, there did use to be even more of it.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #34 on: 16 January, 2020, 02:29:30 pm »
I think part of the problem is an assumption that the council will pick it up. And now they don't. I see people all the time step over litter on the pavement outside their houses rather than pick it up and drop it in their bin (which is usually within a metre or two).

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #35 on: 16 January, 2020, 03:36:08 pm »
It's possible the ones I saw may be deposited by army types as there are a number of barracks in the area and you could use these roads to get to two nearby towns that have nightlife.

The state of the verges in general (there's a dual carriageway near us in particular) makes me despair sometimes.

Adam

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Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #36 on: 16 January, 2020, 06:17:38 pm »
It's the local school that bugs me. They're just not bothered. Send the same copy-and-paste response if you grink them (apparently the pupils did a 'litter pick' on the Queen's birthday and they'd sorry that a 'small minority of pupils' continue to make a mess – it's not a small minority). The back entrance the school literally looks like a rubbish tip.

Given all the current awareness of plastic pollution etc, some of which might have hoped to seep into the younger generation, it's evident that really that they don't care, which makes more than a little pessimistic for our future. I guess they'll turn into their parents.

Generally, it's the example of the adults at home that are the problem, but schools definitely could do more. 

I've done loads of Dr Bike sessions in a variety of primary & secondary schools, and I was always amazed at certain schools where at lunchtimes the canteen and playgrounds were like a war zone, with the children creating so much mess, contrasting with other schools which had a zero tolerance for litter, meaning every student cleared up after themselves, and there was virtually no litter anywhere.  So if some schools can ensure children pick up litter, why don't the rest?
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

hellymedic

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Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #37 on: 16 January, 2020, 06:51:09 pm »
I tink the habit of binning rubbish s best picked up around the age of three and regularly reinforced thereafter.

Little S's excursion from the car to the bin in the carpark was one of the first he'd done without anyone holding his hand.

He was happy and proud to put the rubbith indybin and grew to do this without thnking.

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #38 on: 16 January, 2020, 06:51:32 pm »
Some schools are frightened of parents.

One of the consequences of giving power to 'parents' voice' is that it isnt the reasonable parents who have the loudest voices. But fear not, zero tolerance will sweep through the country's schools, and shit parents have to comply or do one.

ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #39 on: 16 January, 2020, 07:02:37 pm »
I sense it comes down to school leadership. I wouldn't mind so much if the head of our local secondary tried to engage, but on the one occasion I spoke to him in person, honestly, a perfect blend of pompous and patronizing. And as his name is Jeremy, I just had the entire Peep Show thing in my head which made concentrating hard. It's not like he's the head of Hogwarts, it's fucking state secondary school. It's not just me. Our neighbour, a quite posh widow once stomped up there to complain about something. Her description: "what a twat he was." He's the same one who, for one day only, supervised the kids departing school and wrote back to me to say 'he'd witnessed no examples of bad behaviour.' You were fucking well standing next to them.

I found a pile of torn-up 'learning records' this afternoon. Apparently, the 'loss or deliberate damage of which be treated very seriously.' I doubt it. Names and everything (advice for parents-to-be, if you call your kid Jack, he's probably going to be a criminal, OK?).

I keep forgetting my phone to take a picture of the big tip by the gate, my wife is going to nag to the local council for what that's worth. I'm more minded to bag it up and dump it in their reception.

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #40 on: 16 January, 2020, 07:32:16 pm »
It is the leadership, but its complicated.

The various drivers put in place by successive governments include sanctions and penalties for exclusions, the result of which has ultimately been  the erosion of discipline and the responsibility for behaviour being pushed down onto individual teachers rather than being a whole school issue or...heaven forfend... the responsibility of the children or their parents.  I've some sympathy with these schools as I have seen them being beaten down, down and down. Everybody loses. Everybody.

There is a growing movement of academy chains turning around schools with 'ready to learn' behaviour policies which are incredibly draconian. You'll know if your local school has gone down this path because your local paper will be full of stories of kids being put into isolation for not having a protractor, and if you care to peek into the school reception during the first week of the turn around you'll find it full of mothers in terry tracksuits shouting at the senior management.  The key is that the management are willing to ignore the clickbait local headlines and face down the vociferous parents.

In the context of this thread, when forgetting your pencil sharpener nets you an after-school detention, the prospect of being caught littering seems like a probable death sentence.


ian

Re: CO2 Cartridges as rubbish
« Reply #41 on: 16 January, 2020, 08:17:09 pm »
I'd sign up for death sentences. But I'd settle for the kids (and their parents) getting a periodic bollocking to remind them that it is their responsibility rather than a 'meh.'

I'll admit it was a bit bizarre when we had the incident with the bollard (kids rolled a 25kg lump of concrete down a 25% hill) and rather than opt for the above he was obsessed with identifying the individual responsible and reporting them to the police. I really again just wanted them to get a bollocking, not a prison sentence (not that the police did anything, and no, I don't spend my afternoons memorizing school children).