July 7th 2024. A discarded milkshake container thrown out the window of a recently passed car was a timely reminder that even if the government has changed, the underlying culture hasn’t.

Even though I picked it up, more litter will follow. I am not sure picking it up helps change anything.

Growing up in the 1970s dropping litter was a massive no-no, at least for my parents. They weren’t that strict and granted me a huge amount of freedom on most things, but when it came to litter they were very strict.

Before I had even opened by Wrigleys mint chewing gum their litter radars were homing in on a potential drop. I am sure I was sent back to pick up a piece of litter that was nothing to do with me. Whatever journey we were on came to a complete halt until I went back and picked it up.

It’s funny how things like this leave a massive mark on your life.

This evening I went to get some milk and wine from the local shop and noticed a well-known lady called Wini sheltering from the torrential rain and hail (an English Summer, July 7^th 2024!) with her litter picker. Wini of Brundall is a lady who obsessively runs the gauntlet of her village picking up other people’s litter, and even occasionally delving into a bin for any potential recyclables.

Seeing Wini whilst considering the person who threw out that milkshake container, moved me in an unusual way. I was thankful for her, yet saddened by knowing many people don’t care enough to take their litter home. It was further saddening to think these people would probably make fun of her.

My mood was as grey as the clouds which is rather unusual because I am normally the most optimistic of people. Yet every now and then, the magnitude of how far Britain has sunk hits me between the eyes. Yet the ‘Winis’ of the country and the abundance of good people I am surrounded by gives me hope. Even the new Labour government in its first week seems to speak a lot of common sense which is hopeful too.

Getting to the root of what has gone wrong has occupied my mind for years. Every answer I’ve considered points to a deeper question in need of answering. Consistently words like fear, faith, trust, freedom, control and safety are somewhere in the mix of both the answers and the questions. There is a glue that binds these words together, recently highlighted by the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer: accountability.

This accountability comes in various forms but the lack of accountability is responsible for many of the problems we see, including the discarded milkshake container. Unfortunately, unless there is a moral accountability then the accountability in this instance comes down to the law. Whilst it is illegal to throw rubbish out of a car, unless the person gets caught then they will continue to get away with it. A yobbo’s priority is their own personal space, so what do they really care about the local countryside out there? Whilst I dare say that yobbo knows inside its not morally right to litter, their personal ‘moral compass’ overrides that nagging thought.

It is usual in the UK that a lack of personal accountability leads to that accountability being shifted onto some other body with calls of ‘more could/should be done..’. It rarely works any more than more helicopter parenting leads to healthier, happier children. I think it was Einstein who said something like “only a fool believes that more of what doesn’t work, will work.”

Whilst people will be calling for ‘more to be done’ to prevent problems from happening, unless you address the underlying moral failure then no money will be sufficient to solve the problem. More cash? More police? More cameras? Does that really work? Rarely, yet it serves to further dehumanise our society in line with Orwell’s 1984. 

Litter is just one symptom of moral failure, not a failure of the a council or government to pick up the mess. It’s easy to throw cash at the symptom but difficult to address the underlying cause.

Read any comments for any article published in virtually any forum and you’ll notice how quickly it descends into vitriol.  You’ll also notice virtually everyone hides behind some nickname meaning they hold no accountability for their words.

Keir Starmer talks about increasing accountability, but I feel he’s probably not referring to personal accountability. I hope I am wrong in this. Corporate accountability is ultimately a sum of individual people’s accountability within that corporation, particularly the Directors. If a failing water company like Thames Water or our local Anglian Water chooses to prioritise dividend payments or bonuses over the pollution they are not addressing, then ultimately those people making those decisions have to be accountable.