Pye’s Mill

[Timbo]

After some thought on the waste problem facing The Broads, I asked a former colleague who now works for a National Park how they deal with the issue. The park he works for, and I forget which one, operates like The Broads in a two-tier local government area, so the waste planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Regulations are the district councils. Therefore just like The Broads they are having to play 'pass the buck' when it comes to refuse and litter.

He tells me that the current government guidance on this issue is to promote the 'three r's' of 'Reduce, Re-use and Recycle'. But his NP is having issues with this. They can educate the public as much as possible. They constantly reinforce taking your litter home or to the nearest public bins...but without the facilities for the public to dispose of their litter, they are struggling to keep up. They have been conducting research and have, surprise surprise, discovered that an area with litter generates yet more litter, where an area that is litter free generates less litter. In response to this, they are funding several designated refuse bins and are funding the collection and disposal of the refuse.

I did ask if this was financially viable. His reply was £20K a year to dispose of the waste did not cover the wages of the Rangers they would have to employ to clear an area without the facilities of refuse and litter.

What I found most interesting was that they were using a three-pronged attack. They were educating the public to 'Reduce, Re-use and Recycle', they were providing a limited refuse disposal service but they were also tackling local businesses to reduce the amount of packaging used in the goods they supplied. For example, in one location there was someone selling ice-creams, lollies etc. Now they sell just ice cream served in cornets. No tubs, no plastic spoons and no lolly wrappers. One of the campsites apparently provides hessian bags for campers to take with them to the shops. One of the local shops no longer sells fruit and veg in plastic wrappers but loose...to put in your hessian bag. Apparently, this approaching is having a more dramatic effect on the area and the businesses concerned are finding it far more cost-effective.