Tide of litter that must be turned

He quickly demolished most of the pie, then chucked the remains and the paper bag it had been in on the pavement, without breaking his stride.

Now, the bad news is that this is not unusual. And the even worse news is that the bits of pastry and paper joined plastic caps, fast food cartons, cigarette ends and chewing gum on our pavements and streets.

In fact, so ingrained is some of this litter that chewing gum now forms part of the concrete slabs and expensive block paving underfoot. And cigarette ends are almost permanently trapped in the spaces between.

Around bars, restaurants and pubs, it is not unusual first thing in the morning, to find bottles and discarded takeaways from the night before, forming grubby shrines to leisure time.

So, why are we suffering this terrible tide of litter? And what has made local people take the phrase "throwaway society" so literally?

Step back several centuries to a time when streets were cobbled by necessity rather than choice in Bolton-in-Ye-Moors, and "public sanitation" was just a collection of vowels and consonants.

Rotting fruit and vegetables - and far worse - may well have been commonplace in the streets of Bolton borough. After all, the residents weren't too keen on washing, either.

Fast forward to the 20th century. Refuse collections are weekly, and streets are cleaned by men with brushes. Tins and bottles are the main form of litter; old newspapers are burnt or put in the bin, and there are no filter tips on cigarettes yet, just stubbed out ends which are also put in the rubbish.

Now we are in the 21st century. We have developed food packaging to a fine art with shrink-wrapped plastic everywhere, colourful drinks cartons and easy-open tins.

Street cleaning is a more exact science, but council employees are losing the battle against that wonderful American import - chewing gum.

Special, costly machines are now employed to scrape the stuff off pavements and streets, and from underneath benches in Mealhouse Lane.

Paint comes in handy sprays, all the more effective for leaving an artistic interpretation of signatures and slogans on buildings.

An explosion of takeaway food, canned beer, alcopops and plastic carrier bags is all part of modern "development" to allow us to drink and eat on the hoof.

This philosophy extends to our cars. So, if you've had a packet of crisps, the ashtray is full or you simply want to spit out some gum, wind the window down and the highway is your rubbish bin.

Now imagine that you are a visitor to our fair town. You might have come from abroad, where several countries take a dim view of littering.

In Singapore, it is against the law to even chew gum in the street, and the Irish government now views the situation so seriously that it has slapped a tax on chewing gum to pay for street cleaning.

As someone new to the town, you wander into Victoria Square to view our magnificent town hall (its grandeur popular with film makers and tourists alike).

Unfortunately, on a warm day in summer the town hall steps are a popular place to have lunch. But the stone lions now flank two dozen food cartons, six large Styrofoam coffee cups (empty), assorted plastic forks and a couple of decaying apple cores.

Those cooling fountains, complete with animated water cascading down tiered pyramids, are set on grass delicately patterned with dirty tissues, plastic bottle caps and a sprinkling of those ever-popular cigarette butts.

Repeat this scenario near Bolton Market, even in handsome Nelson Square. Go out of the town centre to view a slice of Bolton's history at Hall i'th'Wood and expect the same problem. Takeaways rul,e OK.

Bolton Council is not to blame for this. Its staff are usually highly visible, especially early in the day, doing their best to clean up after another litter-filled day and night.

Local stores and businesses also regularly clean up the gathering rubbish outside their premises. Travel boss Andrew Dickson bought his staff litter-pickers in a desperate move to kick-start the public conscience and improve the town centre.

BhS in Victoria Square employs a janitor to patrol the outside of its building for the same reason, and McDonald's has a policy of cleaning around its own premises across the borough.

By now, our visitor has had the image of Bolton badly dented. Unless he or she has come direct from Beirut, there is often a poor comparison with other towns and cities.

This is not because Bolton has any more or less to offer than elsewhere in England. We have much to offer - from historic buildings and impressive new ones to interesting traditions and culture.

Unfortunately, our current culture involves a major blind spot. We cannot see the mountain of litter we are so casually creating.

So please, take your litter home. Recycle, use refuse collection - Bin It For Bolton. Or soon, the rubbish will win.