She says. . .

Press, 27 December 1979, Page 19

She says. . .

Local authorities do a great deal of talking about rubbish and the litter problem. but there never seems to be a great deal of action about it. Our roads and roadside verges are a mess, and our picnic spots and riverbanks are a disgrace. We are a dirty, thoughtless, throw-it-away nation. I was waiting in a line of traffic in town the other day when I noticed the

well-dressed fellow in a modern car, stopped in the opposite line of traffic, light a cigarette. First the match went out the window'. Then the empty cigarette packet. And, no doubt, further along the road the butt went the same way. Who the devil does he expect to clean up after him? Only a few' minutes later I saw a child — maybe . five, no more — completing the shattering of an already broken bottle that lay beside the war memorial in Cathedral Square. As the child worked aw'ay at its rather risky task, the parents stood by, taking no ’ notice . . . Is this how tomorrow’’s vandals, and tomorrow'’s messy, unthinking, uncaring and selfish litterers are made? Those who litter (and many are car-borne) have pride in neither themselves nor their country. They deserve no sympathy from the rest of us. Nor do the authorities who bicker about the administration and form of anti-litter laws instead of doing something about it. Maybe we should send them all to Singapore to see how it’s done. — Barbara Petre