KHALID AZIZ: Spring time is rubbish in this country (From Hampshire Chronicle)

KHALID AZIZ: Spring time is rubbish in this country

10:26am Thursday 26th April 2007 in News

THIS is undoubtedly the nicest time of the year, with everything bursting into life somewhat earlier than usual thanks to near record temperatures.

However, it's grime, not greenery, that dominates Hampshire's highways and byways - in short, the growing plague of fly-tipping and general littering.

Why, when we are supposed to be one of the wealthiest parts of the country, are our verges strewn with all manner of rubbish?

Earlier this year I found myself on a delightful trip to Kerala in south west India. Here, even up in the hills among the brilliantly vibrant green of the tea plantations, litter mainly in the form of brightly coloured plastic bags, marred an otherwise idyllic landscape.

You might argue that the people of Kerala, struggling as they do with a burgeoning population and relatively low incomes, have other priorities than keeping the place tidy.

You might say that urban and rural cleanliness is the sole preserve of the uber wealthy, as I then witnessed in Switzerland, a country so clean that even a single crisp packet on an otherwise immaculate roadside sward stands out as a blot on the landscape.

Contrast that, then, with the view afforded from the arterial roads that cut through Hampshire's countryside.

Take the A303 up near Micheldever. Slip onto the 303 from Micheldever Station and you are greeted with piles of fly-tipped rubbish which stays there for weeks until it is scattered further by the wind.

Or turn onto the A34 at Winnall. You will have plenty of time to observe the litter, thanks to the county highways department and Winchester City Council apparently being unable to implement a right of way filter onto the A34, which would greatly reduce the queuing.

While queuing, look across to the Tesco site. The trees there are festooned with Tesco plastic bags like some kind of dystopian Chinese lanterns.

You'd think that some of their £2.5 billion profit could be spent on cleaning up their own back yard.

So what to do? Firstly education. When I was at school it was dinned into me that dropping litter was tantamount to a heinous crime. Is this still happening in schools?

It's good to see, too, that the Hampshire branch of the Countryside Alliance is getting on the case. We'll hear more in coming weeks.

Then there's enforcement. For many people it's the fear of getting caught that motivates. It's possible to often trace where the litter has come from by examining discarded paperwork.

In a few weeks the greenery will have grown to cover much of the rubbish. But come the autumn it will be revealed once more.

Come on local authorities. Let's have some action and observable value for our council tax!