Litter
Being close to a city, and with easy access from car park view-points with burger vans, litter has been a continual problem.
However, now (spring, 2005) a year on after a major clearing effort in the spring of 2004, the site is much cleaner.
Less litter is being dropped because the site is generally clean, which makes the efforts of last year seem worthwhile -
although the minority continue to scatter their cans, food-wrappers, and all sorts.
On March 22nd 2004, I filled my 50th refuse-sack.
Sack 50 (and a tyre), and a 'clean city' refuse sack, from the scrub
Accumulated litter, now gone
5 sacks of litter and a mountain of rusting metal, including an old scooter
Wednesday 17th March
Why we don't like the euphamistically-labelled "travellers"
Every summer, caravans illegally use the site. On Sunday 18th July 2004, they left after a visit of couple of weeks, leaving evidence behind them:
Not exactly litter, but....
Whilst walking the site, I was initially bemused by up-turned turves, which did not appear to be the result of animals burrowing, as they had at least one straight edge.
Then I met a "man with a metal-detector". I then realised that the up-turned turves had just not been replaced when whatever had been detected had been disinterred.
As the site is an SSSI, any damage to it, including such digging is prohibited.
And for those who practice the hobby to not bother to replace turves I found suprising :-(
So who's been littering our hill?
Yet more scrap metal, found when scrub-clearing
Police... followed by the bomb-disposal boys :-o
October 13th 2004
One of the worst areas is below compartment 6, where I collected 5 sacks in less than 3 hours (when 'rain stopped play'.
The worst
Having dutifully collected their dog-poo into little plastic bags, many walkers seem to think it acceptable to fling these onto the Portsdown SSSI site; where they often get caught up in scrub.
A common but disgusting sight on our site is that of plastic bags of festering shit, hanging high in the trees - from where it is extremely difficult to remove them.
I personally have never (yet) had the experience of a half-rotted bag drop its half-rotting contents down my neck as I clear scrub - 'but I know a man who has'.
Dog-shit ought to be taken off the site anyway, let alone dumped there.
Yes, grazing livestock shits freely over the site - but
- Their shit is often collected - see it on the poo page!
- Grazing stock is herbivorous, and only eats grass and vegetation.
Dogs, pigs and humans are omnivores. Our poo is a of very different constitution, which is bad for the ecology. Please take your dog poo off the site - or at least discourage them from pooing on the grassland and paths.
Even worse
This sight I found hard to believe - but it was near the burger-van carpark, and I've never know a dog to wipe its bum.
Please do not use the site as a public toilet
Litter I have Found and Hated
Everything, from cars to condoms, camping kit to clothing
drink cans ... sharp edges that cut animal pads, and enclosed spaces for small creatures to get trapped in and maybe drown
glass bottles ...sharp edges that cut animal pads, and enclosed spaces for small creatures to get trapped in
plastic bags and bottles ... which get eaten and chokes the animal, and provides small enclosed spaces for small creatures to get trapped in
clothing from underwear to socks, trousers, shirts, coats, hats, gloves and footwear - I could dress completely from the clothing I have found
printed paper that chokes and does not rot - I have found newspapers a year old that are still perfectly legible
crumpled tissues used for loo-paper. It is designed to uric acid and 'the mechanics of usage', so soft tissues and loo-roll does not disintegrate rapidly in the open. And feminine hygiene products' - ugg - and condoms ....
a tent
4 caravan awnings (admittedly stolen, not dumped), an airgun (hidden, not dumped)
cigar boxes (who are you?? please take those empty boxes away, I have collected dozens of them from all over)
cigarette packets ... crisp packets ... sweet-wrappers (waxed wrappers do not bio-degrade, and are hardly heavy to take home) ... pill-packets ... picnic wrappers and food (which attracts rats, the wrong sort of livestock) ... furniture ... televisions ... music systems...
bikes, scooters and cars...traffic cones ... tyres, lights and everything car-related... paint buckets ...plastic crates ... a kitchen worktop ... saucepans and frying pans... mugs, both china and polystyrene ...
Yes, there is everything - including the kitchen sink!
