So wrong. This is a political thread. The reason for the litter is a political one: underfunding of councils and low wages of workers, the complete lack and uninterset of reducing packaging, lack of recycling facilities, underfunding of schools and education...the list is endless. But don't go pretending this thread is not political just so you can keep up your pathetic trolling of me.
Its mostly groups of young lads or girls who see littering as a bit of an act of rebellion. I'm sure all of them are told by their parents that they shouldn't litter, but when they are together in a group its seen as cool or hard to throw your bottles and cans on the floor, effectively saying, hey look at me - I don't do as I'm told. As a result, their social standing in the group is raised. You see this wherever groups of kids gather. Somehow, and I've no idea how, this needs to be turned around so it becomes uncool to throw your bottles away. Its almost as if we need some sort of reverse psychology, so that its seen as rebellious to pick up your litter. How to achieve this though is completely beyond me.
You are way off the mark. Politics have absolutely nothing to do with littering. It is all down to attitude. You either have respect for your country and its surrounds, or you don't. Children don't start out being litter louts. They are not allowed to drop rubbish at school and they are not allowed to make a mess at home. Unfortunately, that good grounding is lost because of the example set by parents. Once outside the home, different rules apply for a lot of people. Children see their parents leaving litter and rubbish all over the place and are influenced. These are the people who adopt the attitude that someone gets paid for picking up their litter. Sadly, they don't have the intelligence to realise that the person picking up litter has to be funded by the taxpayer. i.e themselves.
This lack of respect has manifested itself in a scruffy, dirty, litter strewn nation. The countryside is bespoiled by flytipping. Whole swathes are burnt down by discarded cigarette ends or barbeques. Rivers, streams and canals are polluted and act as dumping grounds for all manner of waste. They just don't care. Its nothing to do with politics. Its whether you care about your country, its nature and the health and safety and welfare of every one and everything in it. Clearly, a lot of people don't.