Litter louts
Sir: Here comes Elisabeth Dunn (9 'October) launching a laudable salvo against the litter louts. She wants to tax those who provide the raw material, fine heavily those who leave it lying about. She has a splendid vision of a sort of Dunn's Army, Litter Vigilantes —doubtless armed with sharp sticks and polythene sacks. At the cry 'Lout-ho!' they spring in to action, spiking the offend ing objet
and marching the dropper off to the beak.
When, I wonder, did her conversion come about ? Only a few weeks ago, in these same pages, she was railing with considerable venom against those established custodians of order and tidiness, the traffic wardens. Are they now her heroes? For what, after all, is a car but a person-can, left so often lying about the streets of our towns and cities?
If E. Dunn believes the average fine Of £9.35 for dumping a coke tin is inadequate she must surely see that six quid fot a whole motor car is a mere bagatelle.
Paul Barnes 82 Park Meadow, Hatfield, Herts.
Sir : [don't know whether it is the economic situation or a flu-type virus that's making me short-tempered, but I. was seized with
acute irritation on reading Elisabeth Dunn's article (9 October) 'Litter louts'. She corn plains of the poor results of the campaign t° keep Britain tidy and suggests a three-point scheme to get the desired result : I) Make packaging and disposable equiPment of such a colour that it will merge more easily into the background.
2) Tax shopkeepers more to pay for the following: 3) Local litter vigilante groups to keep specific areas cleared of litter.
The plan is to be backed up by further laws on litter-dropping, presumably with stiffer penalties.
Obviously Miss Dunn believes in keeping Britain tidy. What for ? Perhaps I should make it clear that I do not myself drop litter. but dutifully take home to the dustbin the finished-with papers, bags, tins and bottles used out of doors. Perhaps I should also saY that Edo not like to see such stuff on beautY spots, beaches etc. But even less do I like rules and regulations that serve no useful
purpose save pandering to the habit prefer' ences of .a minority. Since litter-dropping is so widespread it looks as though more people prefer to be untidy out of doors than prefer to be tidy. And why shouldn't they be if they want ?
This is just another attempt at social engineering and bad on that ground alone
but what is worse is the suggestion of further taxing overtaxed and overworked short' keepers (who are already unpaid govern: ment tax collectors and statisticians) on sac" a trivial pretext. It just so happens that oar house is on the route to a housing estate front, the village pub, sweet shop and fish all" chip shop, and every day our front hedge acquires empty bottles, coke cans, crisP bags, sweet papers etc. I don't like thern, there, so I move them into the dustbin an° that's the end of the matter. I don't g° harassing our shopkeepers, who are a very nice lot of people, nor even those who drop the rubbish, who I hope will in their turn put up with any of my little foibles that happen to annoy them.
(Mrs) M. Lavender 87 Thingwall Road, Irby, Wirral, Merseyside
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