On Train Litter

[Mutant Lemming]

I tend to bag up any litter I 'create' during a journey and stuff it in to one of the on train bins but I was wondering if this is such a good idea when disposing of cutlery, crockery and glassware. Is it best just to leave this on the table for cleaning staff to collect?

 

[wintonian]

I tend to bag up any litter I 'create' during a journey and stuff it in to one of the on train bins but I was wondering if this is such a good idea when disposing of cutlery, crockery and glassware. Is it best just to leave this on the table for cleaning staff to collect?

Why would you put crockery and the like in the bin, it's supposed to be reused? :-?

 

[Bungle73]

Why would you put crockery and the like in the bin, it's supposed to be reused? :-?

Yeah, bit of an odd question tbh. :-?

 

[Mutant Lemming]

We live in a throwaway society - the plate, fork and four glasses from Wilkinsons come to £1.79 and its' much nicer to scoff my curry for the journey home off a proper plate using a proper fork and having the accompanying lager from a proper pint glass. Besides the missus is fed up of me bringing them home.

 

[Liam]

We live in a throwaway society.

And clearly you are not helping the situation...

 

[wintonian]

We live in a throwaway society - the plate, fork and four glasses from Wilkinsons come to £1.79 and its' much nicer to scoff my curry for the journey home off a proper plate using a proper fork and having the accompanying lager from a proper pint glass. Besides the missus is fed up of me bringing them home.

Ah I see now I was thinking Virgin 1st class or something.

If eating of a proper plate is important to you, can you not wait until you get to your destination and have a sandwich in the meantime, or as long as your ticket allows it break your journey and find a restaurant?

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Ah I see now I was thinking Virgin 1st class or something.

If eating of a proper plate is important to you, can you not wait until you get to your destination and have a sandwich in the meantime, or as long as your ticket allows it break your journey and find a restaurant?

That isn't always possible and timings (like thursdays trip back from Wigan) mean I could either get home and have dinner really late or be stuck there another night.

"And clearly you are not helping the situation..." would help if the railways provided decent on train food served on a plate they could re-use. Am afraid I am just going with the flow these days, much as I'd like to be a one man rain forest.

Anyhow, I just wondered what is the best option for the cleaning staff... I could be talking about glass bottles which many people leave behind as I don't wish to create a hidden hazard for the cleaners.

 

[wintonian]

Anyhow, I just wondered what is the best option for the cleaning staff... I could be talking about glass bottles which many people leave behind as I don't wish to create a hidden hazard for the cleaners.

For this reason I think taking it home would be best.

 

[transportphoto]

Can I suggest that you save the cutlery, crockery etc and take them into (and donate) a charity shop once you have a set of them (appx 6)

TP

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Has me thinking about the relative companies stance on passengers litter. Many, many moons in my days on the Met line, there was a Camden Council binman's strike and people used to bring along bags of rubbish on their way to work and leave them on the train. Used to get to Baker St and there'd be black sacks and even an old telly once (though not during the bin strike). There is obviously 'acceptable' and 'unacceptable' items one can leave behind. In the old days of 'Soccer Specials' leaving beer bottles behind was just the norm. Would be interesting to know what the train companies actual take is on this.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I always tidy up trains on my work journey (being rail industry) - must have recycled about 4 water bottles and 10 or so Metros this week. To be fair , most passengers are pretty good at taking stuff with them , or binning it. Weekends seem to be worse with bulky newspaper supplements etc.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Would a number of different bins for glass, cans, paper be practical ? Might be viable on your average Penzance to Paddington service.

 

[Class172]

I like it on the new 172s:

Bing bong, "Would passengers please put their unused rubbish in the bins provided and newspapers in the luggage racks to be recycled.

This is the best one, "We are now arriving at Worcester Foregate Street. Would passengers have their tickets ready for the automated ticket barriers." What barriers!?

 

[valenta]

I like it on the new 172s:

Bing bong, "Would passengers please put their unused rubbish in the bins provided and newspapers in the luggage racks to be recycled.

Sensible thing to do!

 

[wessex]

You could take a small pack of wet wipes with you and clean up after yourself, do you take a bag you could keep your plate etc in, your missus does sound like a nagger

 

[valenta]

You could take a small pack of wet wipes with you

Wet wipes are an essential part of my journey on a train.

 

[spurs4life]

When it comes to cleaning trains its the free newspapers that are the problem thousands of them on each carriage.

 

[davelew99]

I agree with the charity shop idea.

If you absolutely must be buying new stuff on every trip (and i don't think you should, it's a waste) then take it home and donate to charity.

Alternatively, take a clean set with you when you go away and bring it back each time. Should something get broken then hey, fair enough, replace it, but don't throw it away for the sake of it.

 

[michael769]

Would be interesting to know what the train companies actual take is on this.

I don't know about the TOCs but I hate finding a seat/table strewn with a dirty persons tickets paper and coffee cup/bottle. As far as I am concerned leaving litter on a train is no different to leaving it in the street - it's lazy and dirty, and show a complete lack of courtesy and consideration to those who have to look at, or clear up the mess created.

I would be very surprised if it is not as illegal to leave rubbish on a train as it is anywhere else.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I agree with the charity shop idea.

If you absolutely must be buying new stuff on every trip (and i don't think you should, it's a waste) then take it home and donate to charity.

.

It is actually cheaper to buy new cutlery, crockery and glasses than to spend money on board the train for a vastly inferior product which still leaves you with a pile of waste packaging and plastic. Never seems to be a call for people to take home the junk they buy on train or at station franchises home with them. The only differing element is the glass/crockery and if people brought bottles of mineral water on the train and leave them behind or in the bin no one seems to care. My original point, bearing in mind that the majority of people do not take their rubbish or debris home with them, is if it is better to dispose of such items in the bin or to leave them in a place where it is obvious to the cleaning staff. Though I would imagine cleaning staff are used to all manner of items being shoved in to the bins (have seen a 'lady' stuff a dirty nappy into one on a cross country service). Whether we like it or not we are a throwaway society and the likeliehood of having passengers cart their litter round with them for a day out or on to their final destination along with their luggauge is just NOT going to happen. So would it not be better to have a better overall layout of bins or rubbish collection on trains ? Incidentally, on the ocassions when there have been on train rubbish collections there is no problem with them collecting glass, crockery etc.

 

[cointreau_rove]

Mutant
Intereting pholsophy and whilst you make the fiscal benefit of buying a set of plate, cutlery and glass the overall disadvantage is the waste of materials in a world getitng close to 7 Billion people with an ever decreasing availability of resource.

Your wife does not like you bringing home your perefctly reusable purchases - get rid of the wife... - simples!

Seriously - I am not a newly environmentally aware perosn and have worked in this area of resource management and the environment for over 20 years. All I would say is this - you make the effort to go to Wilkinsons to buy a new set of dish etc for every journey - that in itself is a time waster - why not take them home wash them and use them for your next journey - add up all the £1.79 you will then save and feed off the moral high ground and treat yourself to extra cans of beer with all the £1.79 you save.

Other than that I am sure that many here would see the wasteful attitude as one that will impact one day when the amount of resources available diminishes to the point that you will have to eat your curry out of your pocket. Daft concept - track the price of oil in the last 20 years and wonder what the issue would be if we all did as you do on our journeys - yes there is blatant waste in packaging etc but broken glasses or potential breakages will not be recycled because it is unlikely to be segregated and is a direct hazard to those working the cleaning of trains.
C

 

[marks87]

I put rubbish in the bins, or take it with me if there's too much to fit in the bins, but I do tend to leave newspapers behind if the train still has some way to go.

 

[krisk]

It doesnt help that on a 390 there are no bins in the carriages anymore, not exactly a smart move

People should clan up after themselves its disrespectful to others. However when there are only a few bins on a train, none in a station how long should you carry rubbish for.

I have seen some stations that are just a metal clip and a clear bag as a rubbish bun, these need bringing back. The idea that terrirism may be a bomb hidden in a bin is long gone, these people wear these bombs.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I never used to have such a 'wasteful attitude' but it is difficult not to these days. An alternative view would be that in buying plates, glasses etc for the occasional journey it is helping the economy and sustaining growth in the crockery and glassware industries. Most people would not carry their waste (whatever it is) home with them on any journey (be it car or train) and regardless of anyone's opinion towards it that IS the reality. Maybe if some of the larger stations had well advertised recycling facilities then some of us (and I still doubt it would be most) may avail ourselves of those facilities.

 

[davelew99]

At big stations where there will be many people getting off, would it be so difficult for the station to provide someone standing there with a wheelie bin (or multiple for recycling).

They can easily see whats going in (ie no big bulky bags which could be something naughty!) and people will be able to easily get rid of rubbish.

On the pendolinos at least the bins are very very small and always seem to be full anyway so it's no wonder that stuff gets left.

As for newspapers - there should be a newspaper rack at the end of the coach - i'm sure lots of people would be happy to leave their paper for someone else, plus it's less paper wasted. (On that note i think free papers should be banned as they end up everywhere more often than not).

 

[IanXC]

Do you pass a charity shop on the way home? Knowing some people who volunteer in them I'm sure with a quick word you could deposit said plate daily when passing..

Bing bong, "Would passengers please put their unused rubbish in the bins provided and newspapers in the luggage racks to be recycled.

1 question. What is "unused rubbish" when its at home?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

On IC runs, if we are coming to the last stop (i.e. Euston etc), I will leave it on a table for the cleaners. If I'm on an IC but getting off at an intermediate station, I'll put it in the bins. On any other run, I'll put it in the onboard bins, put it in station bins, or, if I can, take it home and put it in the bin there.

I always thought leaving it on tables at terminal stations made it easier for the cleaners...

 

[trainophile]

The OP doesn't buy crockery from Wilko's and use it new and unwashed does he? Blimey, think of all the dust that gathers in the various production and warehousing stages, not to mention staff handling it to put on display when they might have just been putting out bags of garden compost! hock:

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I'm afraid I create even more waste using wipes etc to clean them with.

 

[trainophile]

I'm afraid I create even more waste using wipes etc to clean them with.

Urgh, I don't know what sort of wipes, but surely the antibacterial wipes would taint your food with whatever it is that makes them antibacterial?