What do visitors from other countries think about the disgraceful way our streets and roads are full of litter

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( /)ansoor

Sorry if my answer seem rational but I'm from Pakistan for a year only. I live in Bradford where Asians (that includes Chinese, Indians, Pakis, Bangalis even Middle Eastern for that sense) are the worst people I've seen. Litter all over. I moved to another area (I wont mention) and lived with a guy called John, that neighbourhood was cleaner than a crystal. So, its not the Brits, its the people who have come here. I must say we need real strict laws to overcome this. Your concern is highly appreciated.
Ta

jamand

Well, where I live the problem is caused by the 'visitors' - you know the one's - the one;s that come over here as immigrants and never go back.

And I'm not joking - all the areas into which they have moved are like rubbish tips -

jxt299

Litter varies from city to city in the US. I live in San Diego and people don't litter too much here. Some, but not a lot. You see a bit more in LA and a lot in Frisco, about the same amount in NYC. I am not trying to be racist here but its true that in Mexico there is an unbelievable amount of litter, people don't care, I guess. I think if you have a lot of litter about, people think there's no problem with adding some more, but if it looks nice to begin with most people will find a trash can rather than mess things up.

Darjeeling Snow

I have a friend who lives in Germany and says it is clean there.....everyone considers it his duty to see that it stays that way...so it would be a question of pride

x

Jim K

I live in California and spent 10 days in Salisbury and London last month. If litter and trash on the streets is a problem there, I didn't see it.

Chuck T

I'm in Albany New York and the same happens on our highways , not so much in suburban settings though , they can be fined for littering but I never heard of anyone having to pay one , it is disgusting...

Whipper Snapper!

It happens in the US as well. Especially urban areas. In many cases, we have implemented an "Adopt a Highway" program. It is where a group of volunteers goes out a couple of times a month or so and cleans up a portion of the highway that they have "adopted" to take care of. It has worked great here.

Tammy

It shames me when visitors see the disgusting state of the streets in most of the towns and cities in this country. Germany is spotless, but then they take a pride in keeping their towns etc clean. I blame the parents here. If they don't take responsibility for teaching their children to use litter bins who will? It is a disgrace, no wonder the rat population is growing a an alarming rate.

Firebird

It's very common in the USA. When USA - Americans visit England we wouldn't notice.

Canadians might notice, though!

acnemycin

i live in singapore and im proud to day our streets here are really clean. i had never realised this earlier but when i was old enough to go travelling on my own, i realised many other countries' cleanliness leaves much to be desired.

as for how to change it, i'd have to say it takes a really long time to do it because it must be instilled into each citizen from young. despite what i said about singapore, i do know that our countries' elderly people are quite the litter bug and worst, spit often on..well almost anywhere they like. with proper education, our younger generation dont do that and then pass on this good habit to our own young..

i was told once that it took the japanese govt 60 years to instill their extremely polite culture. so.. good luck there! lol

well i'd have to say alot depends on your govt, but you have to do your part too by teaching your young not to do those ugly actions.

203

Like Scots Pines in the first answer the stark contrast between Britain and Germany comes to my mind too.

It's almost surreal how clean the streets are in Germany compared to Britian. It's not because they have vast armies of street cleaners either. It's simply because Germans have pride in their country and don't drop litter in the first place.

How we create a sense of national pride amongst the population to an extent that it prevents them dropping litter is beyond me. A start would be to irradicate the notion that the country owes it's people something, which seems to be widespread amongst a lot of we British.

Butch

eventually these fast food take-out restaurants will charge us a litter tax on take-out orders. we already pay a recycle tax but then who recycles.

lulubelle

To be honest where I live isn't like that at all. I have found that a lot of places abroad, especially where the dogs are left to run free, are much dirtier places than anything I have ever seen here.

patroglide

It makes me angry to see people drop litter in the street but what makes me sick is that it is not always the type of person that you imagine would do that. When I walk across the car park of a mega store and see discarded fast food packages dropped from car windows it angers me that people are too lazy or stupid to keep hold of them until they find a bin or until they get home. When I see people drop litter in the street I imagine that they must live in very dirty homes and can't possibly change their underwear very often.
When a friend next shows you their holiday snaps make a note of looking into the background to see how clean the streets are.

Nameless

In major US cities they are pretty good about keeping the sidewalks and public areas clean.

I think it has to do with the culture. Also, if litter isn't picked up regularly by public cleaning crews, than it promotes more littering. (More resitant to throw a cup onto a clean street than an already dirty one)

Nothings beats the city of Singapore though. They actually have very strict laws against littering (people are rested and placed given jail time)

Hi T

I agree, it's terrible. Some people just don't seem to care. I was told from a young age to always pick up my rubbish and take it home if there's no bins, and I teach my kids the same. Trouble is many adults are just as bad. I think when foreigners come here, many of them might think it's nearly as bad as there own countries. Unless you come from some where like Singapore, where it's said to be spotless. I think they have heavy fines for littering, and enforce them.
I think often the refuse collectors drop quite a lot, when they empty the dustbins.

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