Taking action against litter can be good for you
THIS edition of the column by local environmentalist Brian Mayne looks at the benefits of litter picking on our well-being and the environment.
Every month I try and join volunteers from Friend of Barry Beaches (FOBB) to do some litter picking. It’s a great opportunity for me to meet others who are interested in the environment and do something about the estimated 8 million tonnes of litter that enters the world’s oceans.
However, its benefits aren’t just limited to the environment. According to Public Health England, it’s a good way to boost my mental and physical health.
This month was a great time to get involved as it’s the Keep Wales Tidy annual ‘Spring Clean Cymru’. They’re looking to inspire thousands of #LitterHeroes across Wales to join forces to collect and safely dispose of litter from our streets, green spaces, and beaches. It’s easy to join in and open to everyone, wherever you live, and however much you can do. If you want to get involved, you can register your event here.
You can litter pick of course any time of the year either by joining events such as the Spring Clean or, for example, Surfers Against Sewage Million Mile Clean which aims to mobilise one million volunteers to clean over 10 million miles of UK landscape or by joining one of the many local activities organised by community groups such as FOBB or the Vale Coastal Clean Up.
You can also organise your own event. Keep Wales Tidy has established Litter Picking Hubs in the Vale and Bridgend county borough to support litter-picking activities any time of the year. Their hubs will let you borrow all the equipment you need.
For those who want a more energetic form of litter picking you could try ‘plogging’. Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter. It started as an organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries. The name comes from combining the Swedish term plocka upp, meaning ‘to pick up’ and the English word jogging. Alternatively, you could try Pliking, which is picking up litter while hiking and biking.
We shouldn’t forget that dropping litter is a serious crime, which for those caught could result in a substantial fine. Something else we need to remember is that litter costs us all a lot of money to remove – roughly £70 million each year. It also has a devastating effect on our marine and local wildlife. The RSPCA reports on average receiving 14 calls a day about animals affected by litter.
Brian is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, as well as the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, Chartered Environmentalist, and is recognised by the International Solid Waste Association as an International Waste Manager.
- The views expressed by columnists of this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Glamorgan Star, its employees or its proprietors
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