50 years of Keep Britain Tidy

Yesterday, 11th August 2008, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign. In 1954, Lady Elisabeth Brunner addressed the AGM of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes about the growing problem of litter in public places. Four years later, in August 1958, the Litter Act was passed due to the pressure from the Keep Britain Tidy Group founded by Lady Brunner and her WI supporters. Under the Act, despoiling the environment with rubbish was made a criminal offence.

However, fifty years on Lady Brunner may well be turning in her grave as it seems that Britain still needs a good old tidy. From fly tipping and illegal dumping to throwing cigarette butts out of car windows – we are still littering heavily. Fly tipping last year cost the tax payer over £120 million to clear up.

Last night, travel writer Bill Bryson reported on Britain’s litter crisis in a documentary for BBC’s Panorama. According to Bryson our standards are slipping. When he first came to the country, in 1972, he was by his own account ‘smitten’ about our ‘orderly, well-manicured society’ but now the honeymoon period is over.

Although it may be hard to believe, Britain has some of the toughest litter laws in Europe. With the introduction of The Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Environment Act in 2005, local authorities have been granted increased powers to penalise those who litter, fly-tip and otherwise deface and damage the local environment. However, penalties are still somewhat of a postcode lottery, as seventy four local authorities in Britain did not issue any penalty fines last year. Furthermore, due to the nature of littering and tipping, offenders are unlikely to get caught.

So are fixed penalty fines really the solution?

It seems whilst we are keen to recycle in the home, with our recycling boxes overflowing on our front paths, we are unable to get to grips with placing our chewing gum and cigarette butts in litter bins whilst out in the street.

So why don’t we place litter in bins? Could a broad national campaign to remind us to Keep Britain Tidy and drop our litter in bins again be the solution?

By Danielle Thomas