Cleanliness in the UK and the US

in the UK,a lot of the population  think nothing of throwing rubbish on the streets be it fast food wrappers,alcohol containers,cigraette ends,general itter,even used condoms.

You've got a point there.  The cities really are pretty filthy.  Ever come back from holiday in somewhere like Switzerland and been hit by the amount of garbage and litter all over British streets?  When my kids were young we were hiking down a mountain in Switzerland and came to the open fields outside a village, when DS suddenly desperately needed to go to the loo.  There weren't any convenient bushes (there's another tale of course) so we pushed on to the village center where there was a public convenience.  Well, you think any port in a storm -- its probably disgusting.  Au contraire!  DD and I used the Ladies while the boys did their thing, and it was so immaculate you could have eaten off the floor.  And of course the whole country is remarkably spic and span.

You've got a point there.  The cities really are pretty filthy. 

I've found cities in the US to be pretty filthy, too. But the countryside here is much cleaner than it was where I lived in the US. I think it's all about where you moved from and to. You don't see a lot of abandoned cars, fridges and sofas in people's front gardens in the UK!

I've found cities in the US to be pretty filthy, too. But the countryside here is much cleaner than it was where I lived in the US. I think it's all about where you moved from and to. You don't see a lot of abandoned cars, fridges and sofas in people's front gardens in the UK!

You must not have been near my in-laws place in Suffolk, although nothing was as bad as when I was in Kentucky.

Also coming along rather late and harking back to food preparation practices, but one of the tools for improving food hygiene is the publication of the hygiene ratings (sometimes with additional comments) for establishments that serve food. Quite a fee of these are aggregrated on the site http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk/  

Some councils (Leicester is an example) have more detailed inspection reports online and their own rating systems: http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council--services/ep/environmental-health--licensing/food-safety/smilesafe

You can also read the details of prosecutions for food hygiene on council websites (e.g. for Birmingham at http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=6639&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=13516).

The cleanest country I have ever been in has got to be Spain.

You don't see a lot of abandoned cars, fridges and sofas in people's front gardens in the UK!

Hey............You don't like my landscape?
You only see the old cars, fridges and sofas after I cut my grass

I think in a lot of cases cities in the US seem cleaner as a lot of them have less pedestrians walking around.

Some European cities are pretty filthy too, not so much in a garbage way but in a dog poo way (Paris for example) and in a urinating on the street way.

Well I see people littering all the time here, and with no second thought to picking up their garbage.  Even with the kids I work with, if I give them a wrapped chocolate, for instance, they just drop the wrapper on the floor.  Getting them to pick up their litter is an ongoing issue.  It drives me insane!

I think in a lot of cases cities in the US seem cleaner as a lot of them have less pedestrians walking around.

I used to see people throwing rubbish out of their car windows in the US on a nearly daily basis.

The cleanest country I have ever been in has got to be Spain.

I completely agree - not a speck of litter anywhere!  People cleaning the streets at all hours of the day... I have only visited Madrid & Toledo, but both were immaculate.  They say Madrid is like the New York City of Spain, but the difference in cleanliness between the two cities is incredible.

Can't help but agree.  Littering is a problem, and the little darlings, along with their adolescent Mothers, seem to drop rubbish at will.  After feeding their crisps and other quickie snacks (dinner) into their expletive issuing mouths, the wrapper is dropped to the ground without so much as a second's thought.  This despite the fact that there are litter bins everywhere.  Or, had their parent grown up in an age of self reliance, the rubbish would go into a pocket until arrival home.
Then we have the swaggering yoovs, desperately trying to prove their manhood by guzzling various alcoholic beverages in public.  When this impressive display of masculinity is over, they heave the empty container in any direction other than that of a bin.
Eee, it wouldn't have happened in my day!  Me dear old Mum would have given me a swift clip around the ear.  Can't do that now though, don't want the little sweeties to grow up thinking violence is the norm do we?
Hmm, something seems to have backfired doesn't it?

I actually called someone on the litter they dropped one day last week.  I did it without thinking, but she was walking towards me, dropping the wrappings from her sandwich, and when she got near me, balled up a piece of paper and threw it purposefully on the floor in front of her, I just reacted and said 'hey, there's a litter bin right there!!!' and, arm thrust out, finger pointing at a litter bin I hadn't realised was there!  She just looked at me and kept on walking...

It's been my pet peeve since the first Earth Day in the US...

(BTW, PeterPerfect, had to laugh, I didn't think you were going to continue that sentence beyond the word 'heave', although I know that's true too!)

In that case, I would have used the word "retch" instead.

Or as we less cultured types like to say; "calling for Harry".

'hey, there's a litter bin right there!!!'

You just gave me an idea......I should record that line, in my best NJ accent (I'm thinking cast of the Sopranos here) and blast it through a speaker outside our flat at the little darlings who swarm around the convenience store next door and drop their candy wrappers everywhere, despite the litter bin RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP!

Until now, I have been stepping outside the front door with a dust pan and brush, sweeping up the litter and depositing it in the litter bin whilst they are swarming, hoping that they would get the message. Maybe it's time for Plan B?

You just gave me an idea......I should record that line, in my best NJ accent (I'm thinking cast of the Sopranos here) and blast it through a speaker outside our flat at the little darlings who swarm around the convenience store next door and drop their candy wrappers everywhere, despite the litter bin RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SHOP!

Hee Hee, I love it!  Can we get one installed in cars too to shout at the jerks who toss all that trash out their windows.  I've always wanted a paint ball cannon on my car to blast all those idiotic drivers who drive too fast, drive too slow, drive in the middle of the road, pull out in front of you, tail gate, etc etc.  Or one of those neon sign displays on the roof with appropriate messages (I leave that to your imagination)