Train companies do not need an excuses for late running trains but nevertheless here is a new one. Not the one about all staff are too busy clearing the rubbish dumped by passengers but ‘the wrong sort of plastic on the line’.

Let’s have a straw poll about litter in the form of tubes of plastic used and discarded in their billions. Leeds railway station is going to be in for some stick over this poll and post where consumers choose to leave plastic straws behind. Why do drink retailers reach for the plastic when sustainable materials like waxed paper as formerly used in school milk (remember that.) New trendy straw devices include biodegradable bamboo, reusable metal, bioplastics or glass drinking vessels with modified spouts. Better still why not stop being a sucker! Tip your drink into your mouth or Gizza Swig .

The last straw is further plastic annoyance coming on top of a series of pollution difficulties in rivers, seas and general environment that is making the situation intolerable .

Now as a straw in the wind  a small sign that hints of something  about to happen but that may only be the naming of a new train ‘The Strawman’. This would be an intentional misrepresentation supported by plastic straw manufacturers. Thomas the tank engine is going environmentally friendly and the Fat Controller will be renamed the Fat Strawman a person having no substance or integrity. His favourite film ‘Strawless in Seattle’ and worst song ‘Stawburried in Fields For Ever’.

Enough of Straw (bales and bales of it) it is but a small part of the bigger plastics problem.

Leeds Railway Station again!. Platform 17b on the 30th January 2018. The volume is too great to be casual littering. Nor are they the type of drink vessels that generally come from licensed premises. I was lucky not to spot 10 green bottles hanging on the line (but counting cans I am not so sure).

The plastic wrapper or bag was deposited at Menston a small urban station on the Wharfedale line. There was other detritus laying about and it was possible to believe a large piece of plastic caught on the lines or power cables could lead to  “Eleven minutes late, signal failure at Northern Rail.” ( with apologies to Reginald Perrin).

I couldn’t get good pictures of the fly tipping on various embankments on the journey between the two train stations. In parts it was gross and dangerous and down to unthinking idiots who threw stuff over a wall or fence creating a threat to trains on the line. (more when I have evidence).

How Big is the Noise Pollution Problem in Yorkshire

For ambient noise according to DfE some of the worst polluted locations around the UK include Hull, Sheffield and the whole of West Yorkshire. It is harder to measure excessive noise other than on a case by case basis but on a recent survey of complaints:

• Doncaster was firmly ahead for noisy neighbourhoods with 6,231 complaints in a year just over 20 complaints per 1,000 head.
• Leeds came second with 12,295 complaints equivalent of 16 complaints per 1,000 population. Third was Rotherham with 2,551 complaints or just under 10 complaints per 1,000.
• Rural areas didn’€™t escape completely. Rydale saw 177 complainants within a population of just over 52,000 (so 3 complaints per 1,000) and Richmond had 195 complaints within its population of 53,900 (4 complaints per 1,000).
• Hambleton, North Yorkshire was almost idyllic with only 5 complaints  data from Cirrius Research

Church bells are to win protection under new planning rules to stop people who move into towns and villages forcing councils to silence them.     Nimbys loose out    Churches have repeatedly had to comply with noise abatement orders to silence church bells after complaints from often only a handful of homeowners despite the fact that they have tolled for decades.  However, ministers have now decided that churches should not have “unreasonable restrictions put on them because of changes in nearby land uses since they were established” because new homes are built near them. Even though their bells have chimed for centuries, churches across the country have been slapped with night-time noise abatement orders after complaints from just a handful of neighbours.

Traffic and airport noise are more subject to planning restrictions as a means of preemptive enforcement. Nimbys are restricted in what complaints they can successfully pursue.

The Law and Pollution Control

• Noise accounts for most of the complaints that local councils and the Environment Agency receive about environmental pollution.
• The police can deal with a complaint if the noise amounts to a breach of the peace, or where it is associated with threatening, violent or other anti-social behaviour.
• Noise nuisance laws do not apply to noise from traffic or planes, demonstrations about a cause or premises occupied by the armed forces.
• Councils are responsible for looking into complaints about noise from premises and gardens such as alarms, loud music or barking dogs etc. Councils are also responsible for noisy vehicles, construction work, machinery or equipment in the street (for example, music from car stereos).
• Permitted noise levels are 10 decibels (dBA) above the underlying level of noise above 24 dBA

In 2017 the noise abatement society awards highly commended Kirklees Council’s Environmental Health team for work with Planning Enforcement and Development Control colleagues. Noise complaints from housing estates developed in close proximity to industrial premises are problematic but overhauled planning application conditions were designed to help.

In the previous year  Sheffield City Council’s night noise service became untenable. A new ‘Night Time Enforcement Team’ for complaints outside the normal remit of the Environmental Protection Act was established to provide a ‘One stop shop’ dealing with issues affecting the wider community during the night time.

What is Noise

• What individuals consider to be noise is unwanted or unpleasant sounds that are mood altering, or at an uncomfortable level due to duration, volume of sound or time of day.
• Noise can damage hearing, disrupts sleep, annoys in everyday life. The wrong noise interferes with concentration, conversation, relaxation, work and leisure.
• Excessive noise at work can give suffers deafness, ringing in the ears or other ear conditions.

Are  fast food retailers and fast food a known problem causing litter in our Yorkshire environment? Consider the inconsiderate who dumped their chips and wrapper out of the car window in a supermarket car park. It looks like they had a proper picnic plastic forks and all.

Is it the pubs and clubs that provide glasses to leave in hedge rows or the supermarket that sold the Irn Bru that intoxicated someone to ditch their drink in the same shrubbery.

The Answer to What Causes Litter

• There is only one ‘Cause’ and that is the litter lout who created all this and over 95% of urban litter.
• It is not the retailer, chippy or drinks vender that is the cause, it is you or someone you know.
• Overflowing litter bins and rubbish falling off the back of lorries are all caused by consumers. It is the habits and attitude of such consumers that cause litter.

Like the air in parts of Yorkshire the whole subject stinks! The World Health Organisation and now the EU have railed against the UK’s failures over air pollution and yet our politicians are failing us. It is crucially important for our children and the subsequent generations that we take the subject seriously albeit without over reacting. For the largest county, with our share of good fresh air, we still have significant regions that are the worst in the UK excluding London.

Causes of Air Pollution Indoors(I) and Outdoors(O)

1. High levels of nitrogen dioxide and fuel residues caused by cars, lorries and public transport. O
   
2. Greenhouse gasses and pollutants that have escaped into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. O
3. Industrial processes, farming and specific manufacturing operations that discharge into the air that we breath. I. O
4. Other natural sources such as volcano, forest fires and wind distribution from around the globe. O
5. Atmospherically deposited toxic substances including acid rain. O
6. Plastic and other materials naturally deteriorating inside homes. I
7. Burning fossil fuel, using carbon resources for heat and energy production such as wood, coal and oil. I.O

A Breath of Fresh Air

The problems of anthropogenic activity mount. Human pollution of seas and rivers, indiscriminate use and control of plastics and the disposal of waste are individual issues worthy of a more coherent approach. Yorkshire could lead the way instead it is currently lagging behind the rest of the UK. In the UK,  tens of thousands of deaths are attributed to air pollution every year and our NHS feels the brunt of respiratory, heart and cancer problems. The experts say ‘Poor air quality is a major public health crisis’.

An opportunity exists to tackle these complex issues by taking a county wide approach. It may lead to the provision of new jobs and industries with cleaner environments in and for Yorkshire

The impact on air quality is a material planning consideration including appropriateness of industrial, commercial and housing options. These items plus travel and transport issues are key in determining planning applications.

Defra’s Daily Air Quality Index give a national and county view using Yorkshire monitoring stations. This and wider reading will illuminate more of the issues and details.

Footnotes

1. Available from your library or Amazon by clicking on an image.
2. Long term exposure to air pollution may result in bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer and asthma.
3. Four of the worst indoor pollutants come from tobacco smoke, radio active radon, formaldehyde and asbestos. Outdoor pollutants can also seep into buildings causing sick building syndrome.
4. Air pollution  caused by sulfur, sulfuric acid, ozone, and nitric acid can damage metals, plastics, clothing and building materials.

Available from your library or Amazon by clicking on an image