Wednesday 9 May 2012

A Sign of the Times

I thought this made an eye-catching photo for Signs Signs, the meme where people share photos of signs.

It's also an illustration of a serious issue - that of litter in our rivers!

I took this photo on a recent walk along Burdiehouse Burn but on my weekly walks along the Water of Leith, I notice a fair amount of litter in the river. As a volunteer, I collect litter from the paths and banks of the Water of Leith, but for health and Safety Reasons I don't pick litter from the river (unless I can safely do so from the shore) nor do I pick litter from steep hillsides. The Water of Leith Conservation Trust organises regular community and corporate litter picks where groups of people address these larger litter problems.

It would be so nice if we didn't need to spend so much time picking litter though, wouldn't it?

If you want to help clear Scotland of litter, Keep Scotland Beautiful are running the National Spring Clean until the end of May. You can find out how to get involved here.

As ever, text in red contains hyperlinks that take you to other websites where you can find out more.

18 comments:

Andy said...

Yes I know the sign. Caution coal miners at work ;-0

Luna Miranda said...

dumping garbage into the rivers are one of our biggest problems here [in Metro Manila]. NGO's and the government have been working hand-in-hand, but some people are just indifferent. just wait until their neighborhood gets flooded by their own garbage!

Anonymous said...

really sad to see rivers full of litter. and shorelines too. i hope there is an on-going clean up program and not just the annual drive.

RedPat said...

If only everyone would pick up a bit of litter when they see it!

Gemma Wiseman said...

I must admit, in recent years, my Peninsula world is relatively clear of street and waterway litter! Our council, in the summer, hires people to collect litter round the beaches every week! Very organised! Rarely do I see much left round my Dromana beach! And yes! There are litter bins everywhere encouraging people to be responsible! It's not perfect, but it's encouraging!

VioletSky said...

I hate seeing litter on the banks of creeks and rivers. We just had a spring clean up of our neighbourhood creek and it was depressing to see how much had accumulated.

Christina said...

It would be nice if everyone had respect for their land and community.

eileeninmd said...

It would be nice if people would stop littering so there would be much less to pick up. Thumbs up to you for helping to clean up the liter.

Dianne said...

there are fines for littering but they are so rarely enforced
I help clean up our local creek

people are so disrespectful of nature

Ms Sparrow said...

My son helps pick up litter and garbage along the Mississippi River here in the Twin Cities every spring.
He says they have to get trucks to pull out discarded appliances and large items of junk tossed down the river banks. If only the city made it cheaper and easier to recycle those items, it would save so much trouble!

Anonymous said...

Great photo for a sign of our times (also thought of climate change with that photo - the rising seas).

Caroline Gill said...

Sad to find the sign in the water ... but I'm pleased to know about the Signs, signs, blog. Thank you.

Pat said...

I remember growing up when littering seemed like a MORTAL SIN!!!

It's a shame to see so much litter. When I see someone litter, I wish I had the guts to yell at them!

Carol Steel said...

It saddens me to see this sign sitting in the water, but I am heartened to know that there are regular pick ups of garbage by people like you. Keep up the good work and your education of others, about the sensitive issues in our environments.

Lesley said...

It is a sad story the world over, I think.
This looks like a sign for ditch digging the way it is placed in the water!
Thanks for participating.

P. M. Doolan said...

Funnily enough, I wrote a blog post some time ago with a similar title - mine was called "Sign of the Times". My point is that signs themselves are a form of litter, and Britain, much more than any country I know, is filled with them. So it isn't surprising that some end up in the river. I also wrote about how galss doors in Britain need to have thre signs just to make sure you can enter and exit. It is crazy, and example of the uglyfication of open, public spaces.

http://www.pauldoolan.com/search/label/Signs

Gerald (SK14) said...

All too common alas.

EG CameraGirl said...

It's sooo sad to see how messy humans can be. There's litter everywhere, I fear.