Battle for Britain
Where’s all the litter?
You will notice the lack of photos of litter on this website. The reason is that I reckon you have come to the site because you know how bad things are. You are looking for solutions, not a reminder of the dire state of our countryside.
I don’t like looking at litter, in real life or online. I prefer to look at pristine countryside, so that’s what we show.
Except here.
This purpose of this page is to induct new volunteers, to let you know what the work entails… and that means showing you reality.
So brace yourself.
the countryside is one giant landfill
When you first go litter-picking in your parish, you will likely find that you haven’t taken enough bags with you. You will be faced with an accumulation of litter dating back months if not years. Some of it will be hidden, and not visible from the road. Like walking up a supermarket aisle, ditches will be well stocked with bottles and cans.
The gallery below shows the kind of haul you can expect. These photos show the yield from a few picks by a 70-something married couple of short stretches of lanes in one Cotswold parish.
And this is (laughably?) in a so-called Area of Outstanding National Beauty.
What you see above is 90% legacy litter. It has been there for a long time. Once the legacy litter has been cleared, the task of keeping a parish pristine is fairly simple. You can see from the photos here, each from one person picking half a parish, that the load is light and the pace of walking can be fast.
Exercise combined with community service
In fact, if you like the idea of combining exercise with community service, you have come to the right place and I hope that you will want to join this Battle for Britain.
Gray Elkington, Eden Founder
January 2021