Editorial: Filthy habit of littering must end

In Saturday's paper we had a story about a rural resident who was sick and tired of rubbish being dumped in drains and washing up on his land.

We get numerous letters and texts to the editor about people dumping rubbish and the price of taking it to the dump.

People argue that if it wasn't so expensive to make a trip to the dump people would be responsible for their waste.

Well after walking past Cornwall Park at 7.15am yesterday morning I beg to differ.

I think some people are just bone lazy.

They don't give a hoot about disposing of their rubbish in a responsible way.

I was on the Tomoana Rd side of the park where there are parking bays.

Three of the parking spots were littered with takeaway rubbish. Not just an empty packet here or there either. It was obvious people had parked to have their dinner then just opened the door and pushed their rubbish out.

What really riles me about this is that just 30 or so steps in front of them there are rubbish bins.

I love Cornwall Park. The magnificent trees, Holt House, the Chines Gardens, everything about it. It's a popular spot for children with the playground and splashpad so I can understand that rubbish does get dropped.

Children are not the best at taking their food wrappings to the bin especially when they are playing so if mum or dad aren't watching it probably goes on the ground.

Staff from Hastings District Council's Parks Service Delivery Business Unit clean the area around Cornwall Park every morning and afternoon and have identified this area as a hotspot. "The rubbish bins are always filled with takeaway containers and domestic rubbish with a noticeable increase in the weekends and summer months," a council spokesman said. They expect a certain amount of litter but it must frustrate the hell out of them when they see piles of takeaways left behind by people who should know better.