PETER Ryan (Letters, Wed) calls for support from the public to clear litter.

To stop “moaning” about the issue and get out and clear up.

This then for me is not what is needed to take on the enormity of this social scourge.

Litter has been a major issue since the 1950s. The clarion call then “Keep Britain Tidy”.

We are now in our eighth decade, whole lifetimes, wringing our hands in despair.

But then mass consumption drives our modern world. It gets worse every year. Consumption is what we do.

We become mass consumption pig creatures.

Just look at the beaches after being hit by tens of thousands. Or our high streets if not cleared for a day or two.

The product of our mass consumption throw-away packaging industry.

Want to seriously solve this issue, then we need returnable deposits on all throw-away packaging – bottles, cans, fast-food wrappers, cigarette packaging, the whole lot.

Put the burden back on the mass packaging manufacturers and retailers.

The ones that make the profit from what they market.

We will then see a vast difference.

As for the public clearing up litter, so we end with council and business interests benefitting from hundreds of thousands visiting our towns only too pleased if local people clear up the filth and mess afterwards.

And hard-pressed councils? With £90,000 limousines in the pipelines, I don’t think so.

In all huge failure of our country not to deal with this in seven decades.

All but for us, the general public, not demanding our government once and for all take on the detritus of mass consumption interests.

Not becoming their freebie clean up agents.

STUART MARSHALL

Alexandra Road, Parkstone