At the weekend my man and I hopped on the train and took a lovely trip to Wales to see friends. As lovers of nature, walking and the great outdoors we were in our element on Saturday when we paid a visit to Waterfall Country in the Brecon Beacons.
Walking through beautiful woods, seeing wildlife, the gorgeous waterfalls and
great weather made it a truly wonderful day.
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| Beautiful waterfalls and woodland in Wales |
There was only one issue that blighted it: LITTER! Discarded socks, abandoned single use BBQs, plastic bottles, plastic bags, beer bottles, cardboard boxes - the list goes on and on!
As you're reading my blog about living gently, with kindness to the environment, I appreciate this may be preaching to the converted, but it is completely beyond me how anyone can dispose of rubbish anywhere other than a bin! Don’t you agree?
The litter scattered throughout this stunning wilderness was annoying and disheartening to witness. It shouldn’t come as any kind of surprise to me as I’m used to walking along the beaches near my home and seeing the same problem, especially at this time of year when people want to spend the warm, summer evenings on the beach, having a BBQ. Why shouldn't they? The beaches are beautiful, it's great people are outdoors enjoying the weather instead of sat at home in front of the TV. I just don't understand how they can appreciate the beauty of these places and yet think nothing of leaving it strewn with their rubbish. It makes no sense and is incredibly selfish.
Littering is an issue that I can’t abide because it is incredibly harmful to the environment and wildlife. People go home and forget about their trash with no thought about where it ends up.
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| Litter can seriously injure wildlife, causing a great deal of pain and in some cases results in death |
I wondered whether local authorities responsible for the Waterfall Country area have anything in place for the clean-up of litter, but that really isn’t the point. The point is that everyone should take responsibility for their own rubbish. Everyone should care about not causing harm to the environment and wildlife, whether they are in a beautiful wild place or walking along a street in their own neighbourhood.
Hopefully, you care about this issue too. If so, here are some things you can do to help, in no particular order.
1. Reduce your use of packagingThrowing your waste away responsibly and recycling is all well and good, but we should all be trying to reduce our use of packaging altogether. Try to make package free choices where possible. For example, buy three loose, package free onions instead of buying three onions multi-packed into plastic. I am a huge fan of the cosmetics company LUSH who have packaging free shampoo and conditioner bars.
Please, please, please especially try to reduce your use of disposable plastic!
These two
TED talks explain why this is so important:
Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution (5 mins 18 secs)
http://www.ted.com/talks/dianna_cohen_tough_truths_about_plastic_pollutionCapt. Charles Moore: On the seas of plastic (7 mins 20 secs)
http://www.ted.com/talks/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic
http://www.ted.com/talks/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic
2. Choose products with recyclable packaging
where possible
The recyclable lifespan of glass is virtually infinite, aluminium can be recycled indefinitely too and Iron and steel are also easily recycled. These are the better packaging choices where available. So, if you’re buying a drink, grab a beverage in a can or glass bottle rather than a plastic bottle.
where possible
The recyclable lifespan of glass is virtually infinite, aluminium can be recycled indefinitely too and Iron and steel are also easily recycled. These are the better packaging choices where available. So, if you’re buying a drink, grab a beverage in a can or glass bottle rather than a plastic bottle.
3. Know your plastics
In a plastic packaging obsessed world sometimes you just won’t have a choice; the product you want will be in plastic. However, not all plastics are created equal. Some are readily accepted for recycling (although the process is more complicated than the materials previously mentioned, like glass and aluminium) whereas others have to end up as landfill.
Here’s a great page giving some information about different types of plastics used in packaging and their properties:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/recycle-plastics-by-number.htm
In a plastic packaging obsessed world sometimes you just won’t have a choice; the product you want will be in plastic. However, not all plastics are created equal. Some are readily accepted for recycling (although the process is more complicated than the materials previously mentioned, like glass and aluminium) whereas others have to end up as landfill.
Here’s a great page giving some information about different types of plastics used in packaging and their properties:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/recycle-plastics-by-number.htm
4. Put rubbish in the binYep, it’s that simple! Please excuse me for stating the obvious, but as my post above illustrates, some people just don’t get it/care. Hopefully, you do!
5. Recycle as much as possible
In the UK most if not all councils/local authorities have a recyclable waste collection service alongside the collection of landfill waste. Know what materials can be recycled, make sure you have got a recycling bin, know the collection day and remember to put it out for your friendly neighbourhood bin men. If you don’t have a collection service available, know where your nearest recycling centre is.
Don’t stop at bottles, paper and cans either; you can recycle all sort of things!
This website, recycling-guide.org.uk, has helpful tips of recycling all sorts of things including laptops, mobile phones, household electrical goods, batteries, clothes and even cars.
6. Help with a beach clean or a neighbourhood clean-up
Find out if there is a group of caring folk coming together on an organised date to clean up a specific area near you. Some have online sign ups, others you can just turn up – either way, get involved! If there aren’t any groups or scheduled clean ups in your area, why not start your own? You can meet like minded people and help to make a difference. We may cause the problem, but we can also be the solution!
7. Pick up and bin litter that you see
I know it’s not your problem as a conscientious person who bins your litter to pick up after someone else who couldn’t care less, but you will be doing the environment and wildlife a huge favour. There are bins all along the route I walk to get to work so it’s easy to pick up and dispose of things along the way. Actions speak louder than words too – you could inspire someone who sees your good deeds to do the same.
8. Get re-usable shopping bags and remember to use them. Single use bags are a menace for wildlife, especially when they end up in the sea, bearing close resemblance to the jellyfish and seaweed that some species eat. Guess where these were found…
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| 10 points if you guessed 'In the stomach of a dead Sperm Whale' :( |
9. Don’t use products with micro-beads
Find out more about micro-beads and why they are a gigantic issue here:
http://5gyres.org/how_to_get_involved/campaigns/
10. Don’t release balloons and Chinese lanterns
Sorry to be a total Buzz Killington, but the exciting pretty lifespan of these items is far exceeded by their wildlife threatening litter lifespan. You have no control over where they end up and it's highly unlikely that, by some happy coincidence, they will land in a bin!
I know this has been a bit of a serious rant post compared to the others, devoid of Disney or cake references, but I hope you've enjoyed reading nonetheless! :)
Got something to say about litter or recycling? Leave a comment - I'd love to know your thoughts!
I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that, then I realised I am somebody - Lily Tomlin |
