Disgruntled members of the public have taken to social media this weekend to express their concerns over littered zip ties that have been snipped from the local Councillors’ campaign posters on Halifax Road and Acre Street.
An anonymous member of the local Facebook group took to social media with pictures of the ties scattered across the floor, in search of answers as to where they had come from, Councillor Anthony Smith responded to the post with an image of the cable ties that he removed from his campaign posters with the caption “This is where Lib Dem cable ties end up. We pick up litter, we don’t create it”.
Many others have speculated who could be responsible, the individual who originally posted the image wrote that the Labour signs were still up when the photos were taken, hence removing them from the suspect list. Others have accused Labour of leaving the mess. The signs are coming down following the polls closing on the 4th of May and the Liberal Democrats success in the Lindley area. They won with an astonishing 2649 votes, followed by the Conservatives at 1783. The success follows years of commitment to Lindley by Anthony Smith who urged people to “vote local” and criticised the Conservative candidate for living in Greenhead and previously being a candidate for Greenhead, arguing that “he clearly does not know or care about our area”.
The litter critics are frustrated with the laziness and disrespect of the act but also the dangers to the environment and local wildlife. ‘Plasticosis’ is a new term by the Natural History Museum that is a type of fibrotic disease that is caused by shards of plastic digging into the stomach issue, especially affecting birds. According to some studies 90% of young birds contain plastic fed to them by their parents. Keep Britain Tidy report that plastic affects all life, and that recent studies have shown traces of microplastics in people too, the problem is affecting us all. The position of the litter has also been raised as a concern as drivers trying to avoid litter on roadways can be a cause of car accidents.