What to say about 2020? I think the obvious is, well, obvious!
Less obvious is the fact that much of the response to the pandemic could have predicted by examining the UK’s relationship to litter. I started writing a blog post about this back in April, but it and a dozen half-written articles are languishing on my hard drive …
- There’s the emotional rollercoaster litter pickers go on over the years, from bright-eyed enthusiasm and optimism (years 1-2) to cynicism and resignation (years 5+) …
- Or the role of innovation in completely overhauling the packaging system …
- Or the how-to guide for companies: simple ways for them to do more in the battle against litter …
- Or the mathematics of social change: adding positive behaviours seems to be far easier than subtracting negative ones …
All of these and more will have to wait until 2021. In the meantime, although I didn’t have the opportunity to write everything I wanted this year, take a peek at what I did manage to publish:
- Leaving Our Mark: What Litter Says About the UK (7 January 2020)
- 11 Ways Big Brands and Small Companies Can Take a Stand Against Litter (14 January 2020)
- So You Want to Run a Litter Pick … (26 January 2020)
- Moonshot: Zero Litter by 2020 (2 February 2020)
- Planting Seeds (10 February 2020)
- Different Problem, Same Tactics (19 February 2020)
- Planning Ahead (26 February 2020)
- Sprouts (27 February 2020)
- Litter Picking During a Pandemic (15 March 2020)
- There and Back Again: A Look at Litter in the US (18 March 2020)
- An Open Letter to Stop Litter (23 March 2020)
- Government Announces Bold New Plan to Tackle Litter (1 April 2020)
- Litter Picking During a Pandemic, Part 2 (15 April 2020)
- Start Now to be Ready Later (28 May 2020)
- On Target? (25 June 2020)
- Housetraining the Nation (26 June 2020)
- The Power of Where (27 June 2020)
- A Football Campaign (28 June 2020)
- Plastic Free July 2020
- Expanding Our Influence (24 August 2020)
- 24/7/365 (10 September 2020)
- More Thought, Less Waste Gift Guide 2020
Please continue to watch this space or Facebook for an update about any public litter picks Jon will be running next year. Do you have an idea for a new (and safe) place in Chippenham that could host a litter pick? Please contact Jon with the details.
And don’t forget you can always borrow equipment! Drop either of us a line if you’d like to borrow pickers and hoops to keep your own patch of Chippenham tidy.
In the meantime, we wish all of you a very happy Christmas and New Year, and we hope to be able to catch up with all of you in 2021.
