dirty accy
 

Is Accy the dirtiest town. I was driving around accy today carrying out a few chores. I have never seen as much litter and rubbish in a town in my life, and i have moved around a bit. Blackburn Road, from the Royal Bank of Scotland to the traffic lights at Church, is an absolute disgrace. All the side streets around their are the same. These are just an example many other areas are just as bad , and worse. Do the residents of Accy have no pride, people in the town centre discard of their rubbish and unwanted food on the floor not in a bin. Drivers throw rubbish from car windows. Chewing gum is everywhere you look, and why oh why is the fashion of spitting making a big comeback. The only time I ever see street sweepers, they seem to be the same two guys doing a thankless job and losing a massive battle. What can be done to clean up our town. Accrington used to be a very clean and very proud little town and personally I was quite proud to say I was from Accrington. What went wrong. What caused this downturn and why are our elected representatives not doing something about the filth in our streets. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT.?

Re: dirty accy
 

A couple of times a year, we have community clean up days. The various organizations in town each take some streets and go out with gloves and trash bags to get things spruced up. We also try to involve the school age kids and make a bit of a party out of it.

We also have some communities with "Adopt A Road" programs, where a business or organization takes ownership of keeping a particular stretch cleaned up. The local government puts up "Adopt A Road" signs in each section, recognizing the group keeping that patch clean.

Re: dirty accy
 

Re: dirty accy
 

I saw two boys (probably about 10 year olds) cycling down the road the other day. One of them was eating a kitkat and when he'd finished he just threw it over his shoulder. If I'd have been close enough I would have said something.

Last time I was at the bus stop and a boy (from Rhyddings School - let's be in no doubt who's mostly responsible for the sweet wrappers thrown in the close proximity of the school) threw down a wrapper, I ever so innocently said, 'excuse me but I think you've dropped something'. He went bright red and tried to be cocky to me but another lad told him to pick it up.

Re: dirty accy
 

They could make the punishment fit the crime and require them to spend, say, ten hours of public service, cleaning up all the trash! Wearing some UK equivalent to our Department of Public Works relective vests and hard hats? Even for the adult offenders (and especially for the ones who are well off) this might be more effective that a simple fine. Nothing like the threat of being seen in public paying your debt to society to help with developing more responsible behavior.

As Mark Twain said, "Man is the only animal that blushes - Or needs to." Nothing like a bit of real or potential embarassment to get folks doing the right thing!

Re: dirty accy
 

Once upon a time kids wouldn't throw litter because they knew they'd get a clout, if not from their parents from someone else walking past. Nowadays they know that no one can touch them so they don't care.

Re: dirty accy
 

i HAVE DONE THE SAME IN bLACKBUN WHEN A WOMAN WIYH HER CHILD WALKED OUT OF ONE OF THE FAST FOOD CHAINS ABD THREW ALL THE WRAPPING ON THE FLOOR 6 FEET FROM A LITTER BIN. eXCUSE ME YOU SEEM YO HAVE DROPPED SOMETHING I TOLD HER. OH NO SHE SAID ITS RUBBISH. I REPLIED AND THAT THING ALMOST NEXT TO IT IS A RUBBISH BIN. sHE THEN GOT HER CHILD TO PICK IT UP.

Re: dirty accy
 

I've seen the adopt a highway scheme in the USA and it seems to work. local businesses getting free advertising as a reward

Re: dirty accy
 

Or community clubs, like Kiwanis, Rotary, or Lions. Both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts also have adoptd in many towns. Those signs are not only free adverts, but they give the group a sense of ownership of that section of road. On the state and county highways in my town, there are no sections available just now, as they've all been adopted.

Of course, if a section starts looking messy, they are likely to start getting telephone calls about their obligation! ;)

Re: dirty accy
 

Maybe we could make a suggestion to the councillors (clean ones)

Re: dirty accy
 

Why not? Most of the good ideas I've had are ones that I had the good sense to borrow.

Re: dirty accy
 

In Australia they have a national clean up day.........and everyone gets involved in cleaning their own locality.

But really it is down to educating people to put thier rubbish in a bin. There was a litter campaign in the 60s.
I think that fining folk is not the answer.......but making them do 10 or 12 hours of picking up the litter in the town centre might just make them think twice before discarding their rubbish anywhere other that in a litter bin.

Re: dirty accy
 

Just a few ideas to give to your local councilors, Detroit was an amazing project it made Accy look like Switzerland before they started and now the city is so clean and litter free.


http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/kcc/motorcity.htm
Opened just last month, the Justice Center is one of a handful of "community courts"across the country that re-envision how the criminal justice system should operate, alternative sentences -- such as cleaning up a neighborhood parks -- aim to make punishment visible while putting offenders to work in their communities. The Red Hook Justice Center joins the Midtown Community Court, which opened in Manhattan in 1993. A similar court in Harlem will open later this year. All three are designed to address one of the criminal justice system's most glaring failures: those arrested for low-level offences often are back on the streets in a matter of weeks or months, committing crimes such as graffitti and vandalism, after cleaning it up they are the ones who police it.
More defendants in the Midtown Community Court who are sentenced to community service actually do it than in any other criminal court in the city.

Re: dirty accy
 

I don't think that people could be made to pick up litter these days as a form of punishment , with the system that exists these days some law lord would rule that the offenders had been discriminated against and humiliated. Then he would open the doors to some other court awarding them thousands in compensation.

Re: dirty accy
 

Re: dirty accy
 

Whist in Paris recently wesaw aspecially adapted motor cycle. It was on the look out for dog mess. When the rider saw some mess a specially designed device on the bike picked it up, sprayed the pavement with disinfectant and scrubbed it. We are in a backward country compared with some other 's.

Re: dirty accy
 

[QUOTE=fireman] and why oh why is the fashion of spitting making a big comeback. /QUOTE]


I am trying not to be racist by pointing this out.......but the art of spitting in the street to me stems from the Asian community and in particular the older generation of men. They are not the only ones to do this of course, but I have noticed this behaviour both here and in Luton....In America circa 1840, this habit was because of "chewing tobacco" I have often wondered if the Asian community of today partake in something similar?

Re: dirty accy
 

There are still a lot of young folks (mostly young men) in the USA who favor the so-called "Smokeless Tobacco." Nothing more disgusting than discovering a soda can one of the young men has been using as a portable spittoon! Chewing tobacco is realy a nasty habit - and it makes their teeth nasty-looking as well.

Re: dirty accy
 

yes make em clean up the streets n paks n stuff thatl keep the kids busy on a satday mornin

Re: dirty accy
 

As Margaret says, Oz has a national clean up day despite the fact that the place is relatively clean from rubbish. Also what helps is the fact that we have on the spot fines of aus$150.00 or more (depending on the amount and state)dished out to anyone caught. This includes indicriminately throwing cigarette butts and lolly papers onto the ground or where ever. Maybe that would help:)

providing you got your local council off their butts and started imposing fines for littering

Re: dirty accy
 

You hit the nail on the head, our local council don't understand what getting off their butts mean. They give us the impression that they are in it for what they can get out of it, not what they can put into it as they promise when they solicit our vote.

Re: dirty accy
 

The council are currently recruiting more street sweepers.

I remember a year or so ago I was waiting outside Birthday shop whilst SWMBO was buying my birthday card. I women came out of the shop with her 5 kids. One threw her ice cream wrapper on tehfloor about 18" from a bin so I said 'Do you mind picking that up and putting it in the bin?' Her mother had a go at me for telling her kid off!!

With people like that we will never win the battle.

Re: dirty accy
 

all the side streets are not the same in that area,some are dirty,some are not,the day the thread was posted a sweeper wagon was coming down our road,as it does weekly,so you can start by stating true fact.also you can attend the local meetings with the council and bring up any complaints,also the area is part of a big regeneration project of which their have been 2 recent meetings,what was stated at them should hopefully go some way to solving these problems,hope that goes someway to answer your question fireman.

Re: dirty accy
 

I purposely did not mention any particular streets and did say that not all are the same. A lot of people dotake pride in the area they live in but they are let dowen by the one's that don't.That applies to every street in every area. Including yours and mine Cashman. I know you will agree with me that the town is quite a mess at the moment, and that the thread was directed at the people who discard rubbish anywhere but in the provided places, and not at the people who live in them and try to keep on top of the area.

Re: dirty accy
 

Of course, if the street is kept free of trash, people are less likely to litter. Conversely, if the area is strewn with litter, many folks will take it as a message that one more bit of trash will not make things any worse - and a downward spiral begins!

Re: dirty accy
 

Can I just make a piont. This thread was about the prawns who gob, drop sh-t, let dogs sh-t and leave it for all to enjoy, and the idiots that think they have a god given right to throw what they want, where they want, anytime they want and ruin this town for the ones who try to keep it nice. I am sure that does not apply to anyone reading this, as the ones it does concern probably can,t read anyway.

Re: dirty accy
 

With regard to litter, its about time the council but a lot more litter bins in place ,if you walk down Blackburn road from church to town you will be lucky to see 4-5 bins in the hole lengh of the road.
normally i just use less's front garden as a rubbish bin like everyone els

Re: dirty accy
 

The Council should make a bigger noise about imposing on the spot fines for litter louts and those who allow their dogs to foul the pavements;if these penalties are good enough for the theiving scum in Accy they should be good enough for these ignorant louts too!:mad:

Re: dirty accy
 

all for that lindsey only problem i can see is their not soft targets,like motorists and old folk that couldn't afford to pay the poll tax,

Re: dirty accy
 

Julie and I walked from teh old Spar at teh end of Southwood all the way past Hollands before we found a bin to put our empty drinks bottles in. We probably past a hundred or so that had been dumped and our council wonder why.

Ian

Re: dirty accy
 

I still think it would be more beneficial for the litter dropper to have to do Litter Duty.......they should have to wear a yellow suit that proclaims them as a litter picker too.....I'm sure then they would think twice before dropping their rubbish.
Those who discard chewing gum irresponsibly should have to get down on their hands and knees and scrape the muck up.
Irresponsible pet owners who let their dogs foul the footpath should have to do T*rd. Patrols.

Re: dirty accy
 

I agree totaly but again you would be accused of encroaching on human rights. The do gooders would soon be on your back. After all if a judge awards a prisoner £10.000 because he felt degraded after being made to slop out. Where is it all going to end.

Re: dirty accy
 

It would not be degradation......especially if they could choose between a fine and being a litter picker. The yellow uniform could be seen as protective clothing.....a health and safety thing.......after all you wouldn't want to get run over while you were picking up the litter......and it said that Yellow is the most visible colour.

Re: dirty accy
 

I like that idea - but how do you catch them? There's a nasty lump outside my garden wall which has been rained on. I don't feel like cleaning that up! :cool:

Re: dirty accy
 

I think they should wear a pink suit that proclaims them as a litter picker. Let's go for maximum embarresment as I doubt any teenage boy would like to be dressed head to foot in pink.

Re: dirty accy
 

Any rubbish offender too young to be fined by wardens, should then be taken home and their parents made to pay.When all is said discipline starts in the home.