People are 59% more likely to drop litter when outside their home Town

THE people of Britain are generally a caring lot bursting with civic pride and a hatred for people who drop litter on the streets of their Town or city, it's been revealed.  However, it's an attitude that evaporates completely when they hit the road or visit another Town, a national waste management company has found.  According to the BusinessWaste.co.uk management company, people are around four times more likely to litter the streets of another Town, with litterbugs most likely to strike by throwing their rubbish out of their car window.  "Brits are the kind of people who get positively outraged if they find an empty beer can in their front garden. But it appears that they think nothing of doing exactly that when they're away from home." says BusinessWaste.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall.

This surprising and 2 faced attitude is backed up by a survey of 250 people who were prepared to speak candidly and anonymously about their attitude to litter:-

► 98% said they would be angry if they found litter on their front doorstep.

► 89% said they'd never drop litter in their home Town.

► 55% said they'd say something if they saw somebody dropping litter in their home Town.

► 41% told us that they would actively pick up litter in their own street or Town centre if they thought it was unsightly.

On the other hand:-

► 59% admitted to dropping litter in another Town, or on the road.

► Of these, 71% said they had dropped litter in the street; and 72% said they had dropped litter; including cigarette ends; out of their car window.

► Only 3% said they'd ever been stopped by a local because they have dropped litter.

Despite these contradictory results, there appears to be public appetite for throwing the book at offenders:-

► 68% said they would support a rise in the current £75 fixed penalty for littering to at least £100.

► 1 person's response was typical:- "I love my Town, and I've shouted out kids who drop their sweet wrappers. But I always chuck my ciggie butts out of the car window; they're biodegradable, aren't they?"

Cigarette waste made up the majority of littering to which people admitted, in both their home Towns or elsewhere, followed by fast food wrappers, sweet wrappers and drinks bottles or cans.

Lit cigarette butts are particularly dangerous on the open road as they can cause grass fires; and the heavy metals and poisons are not typically biodegradable, and can poison local water tables. BusinessWaste.co.uk says that even though there are fewer smokers in the UK, the amount of cigarette waste in our streets has actually increased over the past few years because of the smoking ban on most indoor premises.

"Even though people say they don't litter their home Town, they may be doing it unconsciously as a smoker, or simply dropping a wrapper without thinking. In fact, resort Towns aside where the visitor population can outnumber the locals in peak season, we think the majority of litter on Town and City streets in the UK is generated by the home population." says Mark Hall.

But it's on main roads between urban areas that goes to prove how little people think about flinging their waste any which way, says Business Waste.  Hall says:- "Every year, our waste operators have to risk their lives picking litter from grass verges on major roads. The end result is tens of tons of cans, bottles and food wrappers. Home Town pride goes right out of the window on a car journey, it seems."

BusinessWaste.co.uk has a simple message for people who litter Towns, highways and the countryside:- "Take it home, and put it in the bin. If it's recyclable, recycle it."

Unfortunately, Hall says, it's a message that's still not getting through.

Beer Garden smoking ban 'work of crackpot killjoys'

BANNING smoking in beer gardens because it looks "bad" would be an outrageous affront to millions of people acting perfectly within the law, says Ukip deputy leader Paul Nuttall. The Royal Society for Public Health says smoking should be seen as "abnormal" and wants even more controls over where people can or cannot light up.  Mr Nuttall, MEP for the North West, said further controls on smoking would sound the death knell for the already under-pressure pub industry. He said:- "We should think back to 2007 before the smoking ban came in, when we were told it would increase the number of people visiting our pubs.  The truth is the exact opposite happened. In the 1st 6 months of 2014 we were losing 31 pubs a week as the businesses closed down.  The idea of now extending the smoking ban from inside the pub to the beer garden is ludicrous. The Royal Society even admits that this is nothing to do with passive smoking. They say that even the 'sight' of someone smoking could influence a child to do the same.  This is inflammatory nonsense and an outrageous affront to the ten million people who smoke perfectly legally.  Presumably the Royal Society will want to ban BBC Crimewatch, as the sight of it on television might encourage children to break the law.  By the same notion we'll have to ban fat people so we can discourage obesity and ban power stations because they encourage pollution. This idea is from crackpot killjoys who refuse to accept that actually, adults are free to make their own decisions and also know best how to bring up their own children."

A level results success in Liverpool

A-LEVEL results in Liverpool have improved again, according to provisional figures. Grades from all schools show the City has matched the national pass rate at 98.1%; while an additional 242 young people have secured the higher grades of A* - C compared to 2014.  Of particular note is the success of ethnic minority and traveller students who study after school as part of the Communities Languages project, with 63% achieving A/A* grades. Councillor Nick Small, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for Education, Employment and Skills said:- "Our students put a great deal of passionate commitment into their A level studies and congratulations to all of them on their success.  It's great news for our City that more of our young people are able to go on to university and in to advanced apprenticeships. Thanks also need to go to their teachers and parents and carers for supporting and guiding them. It is more important than ever to get decent grades in order to secure a decent job, apprenticeship or place at university, and it is vital that every single young person gets the help, guidance and support they need to achieve their full potential. We are working hard with schools and employers to make sure our young people have the right qualifications to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in growing employment sectors here in Liverpool."