Litter and plastic bottles; Scotland puts England to shame – Yorkshire Post Letters

WHEN we have had good weather, and people have been on lockdown and partial lockdown, there have been lots of people around and there has been litter left in parks and recreation fields.

Council staff have been working tirelessly in all weathers to combat the increasing amount of litter dumped on our streets and parks. I have been out litter picking myself, as have other volunteers all around Leeds. We can all take part in making a small difference in our local neighbourhood.

In today’s world, there are plastic and aluminium containers scattered all around. These containers will not decompose for hundreds of years. Back in 2017, Michael Gove was contemplating a “reward and return” scheme for plastic bottles. When will this scheme be implemented? It would certainly have meant parks would be much cleaner.

Scotland has a ‘‘Deposit Return Scheme’’. People pay a small deposit of 20p when they buy a drink in a single-use container and then get the deposit back when they return the empty bottle or can. Why do they do things better in Scotland? Free university places, free prescriptions, PR in local elections and for the Scottish Parliament.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor