What a litter pick tells us about our fragile Blue Planet

Each event brings shock and disbelief to our volunteers – why do people think the roads and countryside of this county are one great big rubbish bin?

At the end of November, in a small and unassuming beck in the Craven area in just two hours, we retrieved one large wheelie bin, a fake Christmas tree, a pair of very old fashioned and greying y-fronts, three tyres, whisky and gin bottles, soft drinks cans, a letter box (really?) as well as far too many beer cans and so-called sports drinks bottles, to name but a few of the items that filled the back of a pick-up truck.

There were some dark, sinister finds in the beck too – a large collection of drug inhaling paraphernalia. The countryside of North Yorkshire is a high in itself. You don’t need mind-altering substances to marvel at it.

The haul begs the question: Why jettison your y-fronts in a country lane? The amount of time it must have taken for someone to load up their Christmas tree, drive to the lane and then throw it into the stream begs more questions: Why not just offer the tree to someone who can’t afford to buy a new one each year, and why bother with energy-saving LED lights if you plan to despoil the environment that these are supposed to help protect?

The BBC’s Blue Planet II has had some of British television’s highest viewing figures. In it, Sir David Attenborough talked passionately about the effect of pollution on our oceans.

The media reported that the great British public were in tears about the death of that poor whale calf. It was a really moving and heartbreaking piece of film.

We can all do our bit, right here and right now, to help save our seas and marine life – and it starts with the humble beck or stream.

Each one of our little brooks runs into a river that runs into the sea so, if we start at the beginning, we can only help the bigger picture.

England’s watercourses criss-cross the countryside, they assist wildlife and that wonderful term – the biodiversity superhighway, or, more appropriately, the biodiversity shipping lane.

This enables creatures to move around, joining up habitats and keeping our soil rich and productive. If we block the shipping lane and we stop biodiversity, then we eventually we stop life. It’s not rocket science. Reduce litter!

The carrier bag charge has seen an 85 per cent reduction in plastic bag use – which is evident during our litter picks.

Keep your rubbish to yourself and dispose of it carefully.

The responsibility to clean up North Yorkshire and keep it clean and healthy lies with each and every one of us.

Please do your bit in 2018 and think before you drop.

And to the man who threw his underpants away, we can recommend a good environmentally friendly washing powder (they were rather grey) or use your old 
pants as a duster (when you’ve washed them of course) – 
just contact this charity for 
more help.

Many people assume we only object to planning applications and that is so far from the truth. The clue is in our name. We campaign on a wide range of environmental issues to improve the lives of this generation and the next and the next.

We’ve been doing it for over 90 years and we plan to keep doing it for a lot longer.

Our next litter pick is planned for early Spring 2018 – join us!

Even though members of the public all too frequently assume we’re all on ‘community service’ for the wrong reasons, we are doing the community a service.

Oh, and if you find something really odd on your own litter pick let me know, we can create a Rubbish Top Ten Chart List.

In 2018, as part of your New Year’s resolution, don’t let litter trash our great county.

Merry Christmas to all our members, in particular our litter volunteers and a happy, healthy 2018 to all.

Jules Marley is Chair of the Campaign to Protect Rural England North Yorkshire and Regional Chair of Yorkshire & The Humber CPRE. www.cprenorthyorkshire.co.uk