STRANGE LITTER. | bowlandclimber

The last time I was up the fell, here in Cowley Brook Plantation, I noticed litter starting to appear. Time for a clean up to hopefully stop it becoming a recurring problem.

Hailstones kept me awake all night and this morning there were some hefty showers. So I was in no rush to get out, par for the course at this time of year for me I’m afraid. Living in Longridge, which is elevated from the Preston plain, allows one to look out to the west and see what weather is coming our way for the next hour or so; the best way of weather forecasting. At two o’clock it was all blue sky.

Armed with my plastic bag and ‘litter picker’ I wandered into the trees and up to the highest point. On these remoter paths, all is relative from the road, I found only the odd can and a sweet paper or two. Working my way back down to the popular dog walking circuits, guess what I picked up the most? No prizes for the correct answer – poo bags. Some hidden in the undergrowth, others hanging from a convenient branch.

Coming back up through the woods by the lively stream there was a rash of orange peel scattered about.

And then near the gate from the road a disgusting pile of nappies and tissues.

I seem to remember changing my children in the boot of the car, but that was before ‘disposable’ nappies became the norm. The throwaway society has led to ever more landfills, water pollution, ocean degradation and now a worrying apathy to the problem. Recycling will never keep up with the world’s waste. Coming up at the beginning of March is ‘The Big Plastic Count’ which helps you to focus on your own use and points the way to a more sustainable future. It all starts at home so why not sign up at Home | The Big Plastic Count  Shame they couldn’t have produced a more polished video.

The nappies safely into the bag, along with a few polystyrene coffee cups from the roadside, I was ready to leave but then spotted…

…laid out near the path. Strange litter, why and by whom?

Job done, home for tea.

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