Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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I hate having to grumble about litter, but the multitude of pictures I’m seeing, not only in the press but also on local Facebook groups, of so many carelessly discarded single-use facemasks and disposable gloves, incenses me. The fact that people are taking off what may be contaminated PPE and leaving it for someone else to deal with - who may just end up seriously ill or even dying as a result, is selfish in the extreme.
Something else that bothers me is the number of CCTV cameras all over the place that uglicise (new word – but I think you’ll know what I mean!) our environment but which rarely seem to be put to good use. Yes - they help us as well as the authorities identify people committing crimes, but so often these crimes aren’t even investigated and when they are, the criminals aren’t punished accordingly and thus are encouraged to continue their dastardly deeds. I wish there was a way we could persuade our local authorities to use these cameras to make a concerted effort to catch and punish litterbugs – not just with a fine but by making them walk the streets or beaches collecting bags of litter. Perhaps if the louts knew what a horrible job it can be, they’d think twice in future - particularly when it comes to having to collect other people’s used PPE!
My daughter’s been talking to friends about the facemask issue and asked me why there aren’t any bins around, specifically for potentially contaminated waste, since ordinary bins are often raided by urban foxes and the contents strewn about. They all felt concerned about the people whose job it is to clear this up, whether they’re given special training and whether they have sufficient PPE. The idea of special bins seemed good initially, but then it occurred to me that all waste is, potentially, now dangerously contaminated. And if so many people refuse to take their rubbish home or use the bins already in place anyway, why would a special bin make any difference?
I’ve asked in the past whether extensive litter’s just a UK thing, but I’m well aware that when it comes to what’s been dubbed ‘Covid-waste’, it’s a global issue we’re facing. The threat of this pandemic continuing and the likelihood that others will follow, means that the problem’s not going to go away, so a solution needs to be found before the problem becomes overwhelmingly difficult to tackle.
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Yours,
30th July 2020