THOSE who are of mature mind should remember the following story before blaming acts of mindlessness on the young "because they have nothing better to do."
On Sunday, August 25 I was at the Drybrook 'recycling centre' disposing of the weekly collection of glass, cans and newspapers equalling at least one sackful of rubbish when a white-haired 'gentleman' walked into the car park bearing a large branch from a buddleia bush.
Thinking he would put it behind the bins to rot down amongst the shrubs I was amazed and horrified to see him approach the Clothing Bank. It appeared that the swing lid of this was too complicated for him to negotiate so instead he broke off the side shoots and shoved the whole branch into the can bank, laughingly commenting that "it will make the cans grow." Those who deal with the cans will probably attribute this 'deposit' to the young.
I was stunned and angered at the action of someone who was obviously old enough to know better, but probably too old to care about the consequences of his actions. I regret that I did not remonstrate with him at the time, but I doubt it would have many any difference.
With the World Earth Summit taking place and environmental issues having a high media profile it seems that some older people do not care about the irrevocable damage they are doing to our planet. At least children are taught the cumulative importance of such seemingly inconsequential thoughtless actions on the environment.
The recently delivered electoral registration form was accompanied by a leaflet which contained a lot on information from the council about recycling. No doubt many recipients simply threw this in the bin. Perhaps your newspaper, which is free and widely read, could reinforce these important issues and educate the adult population on the results of their actions. – Jenny Thompson, recycling officer, FODDC.