Littering should be frowned upon

WHAT does Austria have lots of and none of? It’s not a cryptic crossword clue — it’s far more straightforward than that. Having enjoyed a lovely holiday there last year I can confirm that Austria has bucketloads of beautiful scenery, lakes with water so clean you can drink it (please note Thames Water) and… a complete absence of litter.

In a week there I saw fewer discarded cans, sweet wrappers and plastic takeaway meal trays than I do in a 15-minute stroll down Greys Road and into Henley town centre. Public spirited people pick it up or organise litter picks but really, they shouldn’t have to.

Rubbish on highways is a particular problem. The A404 from Henley to the Handy Cross roundabout is absolutely filthy, with the central reservation covered with bottles, fast food packaging, empty cigarette packs and worse. There is a reason our roads are so littered.

Responsibility for clearing motorways lies with Highways England, which reports to the Department for Transport which sets no targets for clearing litter and its says: “What gets measured gets done”. Responsibility for keeping A roads clean falls between the district and county councils through which the road passes with no one agency ultimately responsible.

But — and I’ll say this quietly — does it really matter? Litter is certainly unsightly, costs money to clear up and creates a depressing view of a grubby country that doesn’t care too much about its appearance. But, given huge problems of climate change and nature destruction, is litter worth worrying about?

Well, yes, it is. To an unknowing animal, litter can easily be mistaken for food. This is a huge problem for our wildlife which may fill their stomachs with plastics and other rubbish which may cause choking, airway or stomach obstruction and can ultimately lead to death.

Sharp objects such as hard plastics, glass and metals scattered in the environment can cause nasty cuts and wounds, which can become infected and cause further harm.

The Essex Wildlife Trust points out: “Litter may harbour disease-causing microbes or toxins that can be harmful when ingested or released into our soils, rivers or seas. The chemicals that leach from microplastics into the environment or animals who ingest them are invisible to us, yet cause problems such as infertility, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Microplastics have been linked to reduced plant growth and nutrient uptake, causing problems for the whole ecosystem.”

Research by the campaign group Keep Britain Tidy finds clearing litter costs the UK £1bn a year, and, let’s face it, there are much better uses of a spare £billion in the UK today.

So what can the UK learn from Austria? Firstly, Austria decided to tackle litter 20 years ago. They implemented strict anti-littering laws, have plenty of bins that are emptied regularly and, most importantly. a culture has been created where littering is socially frowned upon.

We also have anti-littering laws. You can be fined £80 for littering by an environmental enforcement officer from South Oxfordshire District Council. However, this requires a name and address of the person dropping the litter for it to be enforceable.

So, this leaves us with creating a social environment where littering is frowned upon. We have done this with dog fouling and indoor smoking in public buildings. It should be possible to do the same with littering.

Studies find that people drop litter if an area is already heavily littered and because they’re lazy. I can testify to this — whoever drops the small mound of Red Stripe Jamaican lager beer cans by the post box in Greys Road is standing just five yards from a bin. Please don’t drop litter — bin it or take it home and keep Henley looking beautiful.