Litter warning after 50-year-old crisp packet find
A man who found crisp packets thought to be more than 50 years old buried in a hedge has urged people to remember that litter can take a lifetime to break down.
Neil Collett, 53, found the crisp bags near Redscope Primary School in Rotherham when he was picking up litter on 24 May.
He said he was shocked to find the packet of Smiths crisps advertised a promotion that ended on 28 March 1975 - a date before he had even started primary school.
"Any litter is always good to get off the street but the thought that I found such an old piece of rubbish, it was one of shock," Mr Collett said.
Mr Collett, who founded volunteer group S61 Litter Pickers four years ago, said the age of the intact crisp packets was "scary".
"Straight away, I took a photo of the crisp packet because I knew it was vintage," he said.
"You might think you're just dropping a crisp packet, but it's going to outlive you."
He said he felt it was morally wrong to drop litter and urged people to consider the impact.
"Think about what you're doing," he said.
"We've only got one planet. Just think of the consequences."
Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy warned that plastic waste could take a long time to break down.
"Sadly, finding packaging that is decades old is an all-too-familiar thing for our litter-picking volunteers," a spokesperson for the organisation said.
"Litter, once in the environment, can pollute it for decades or even centuries.
"Plastics, in particular, don't just 'disappear'. They may break up into smaller and smaller pieces over time but they will still be there, ending up as microplastics."
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
'I've picked litter since childhood, now it's art'
Bottle from 1800s among vintage litter found
Old drinks can and crisp packet used to teach kids
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Major housing scheme decision delayed
A decision on plans to build 150 new homes has been deferred after councillors asked for more details around the developer's contribution towards extra school places. The planning application, from Stonebridge Homes, would have seen the development built off Hatfield Lane, in Barnby Dun, Doncaster. A report by planning officers said the developers would be asked to make financial contributions to local schools, including Hungerhill, to provide additional school places. However, councillors decided they needed answers from the council's education department on how it calculates figures regarding school places for developments. The report said a contribution of £605,000 would have funded 25 additional school places, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. It prompted questions from councillors Steve Cox and Neil Wood, with the latter referencing other developments near to Hungerhill school which would add to demand. Cox moved to defer the decision on planning permission until staff from the council's education department came to offer "clarity". Wood asked if a cumulative figure for places at schools affected by multiple developments to be put in council reports. The vote was carried and the application will come back to planning at a later date. The plans consist of 115 dwellings for "market housing" and 35 dwellings for "affordable housing". The council report stated the proposal "meets all key policy requirements in respect of affordable housing, public open space, education, and biodiversity net gain". A total of 63 objections had been lodged by residents in the area, raising concerns about the impact on services, including GPs in the area. However, officers informed councillors on the committee the GP practice locally "is still accepting new patients and there are others also nearby". Katie Purdam, who spoke on behalf of Stonebridge Homes, said: "The scheme has been subject to a number of changes since it was first submitted." She said it was an "opportunity" shaped with the local community and council "to deliver much need housing on the site". "The proposals have been designed with community in mind," she told the meeting. A decision on the application will be made at a future date. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Doncaster Council
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gallery raising £3.8m for Hepworth 'masterpiece'
A West Yorkshire art gallery is attempting to raise sufficient funds to purchase a Dame Barbara Hepworth sculpture "for the nation". The Hepworth Wakefield wants to buy Sculpture With Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue And Red, created in the 1940s, in order for it to go on permanent public display. The oval-shaped piece, which sold for more than £3.5m in 2024, was later given a temporary export bar preventing it from leaving the country - providing a UK gallery the chance to acquire it. The Art Fund charity has offered £750,000 towards the cost, however a further £2.9m is required before a 27 August deadline. If the target was not met, the sculpture by the Wakefield-born artist would go to a private buyer and be taken overseas. The appeal is backed by artists and creatives including Sir Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Jonathan Anderson, Richard Deacon, Katy Hessel, Veronica Ryan, Joanna Scanlan and Dame Rachel Whiteread. The piece is one of only a handful of wooden carvings made by the artist during the 1940s, when she lived in St Ives, Cornwall, with her young family. If bought, the Hepworth said it would be a "star piece" in its collection. The gallery also planned to lend it to other museums and galleries across the UK, "opening up access for people everywhere". Simon Wallis, gallery director, said: "We established The Hepworth Wakefield 14 years ago to celebrate, explore and build on Barbara Hepworth's legacy. "This sculpture is the missing piece, a masterpiece which deserves to be on display in the town where Hepworth was born." Sir Antony said: "Barbara Hepworth's work remains a luminary example of both an engagement with modernism and a return to direct carving. "The opportunity for the museum named after her to acquire this important work is precious and should be supported." The gallery is home to Wakefield's art collection, including significant works by Dame Barbara but excluding her finished works from the 1940s. Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director, said: "This rare and significant sculpture should be on public display in the UK now and for generations to come. "Every museum should have the power to secure landmark works of art but in today's challenging funding climate they simply cannot compete with the prices demanded on the open market." She added: "We applaud The Hepworth Wakefield for the huge ambition of their bid to bring this Hepworth home." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Bid to stop Hepworth sculpture from leaving UK Hepworth sculpture set to sell for up to £3.2m Dame Barbara Hepworth sculpture sold for £3.5m The Hepworth Wakefield Art Fund
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Concert to raise money for cardiac screenings
A fundraising concert has been organised in memory of an eight-year-old boy who died from a cardiac arrest. Jasper Cook, from Birkenshaw, died in January 2022, three days after he fell ill with Covid-19. His parents, Kim and Ian Cook, said money raised from the event would be used to help fund cardiac screenings for young people. The event comes after Mrs Cook was nominated in the fundraiser category for this year's BBC Radio Leeds Make a Difference Awards. "My whole ethos behind what we've been doing in Jasper's name is, the more people I can reach, the more money I can raise, the more young hearts I can screen, the more people I can stop being in this terrible position," she said. "We have already now done three days and tested nearly 300 young people between the ages of 14 and 35." Since her son's death Mrs Cook has completed a number of fundraising challenges and events, including skydiving. The concert, taking place at St Paul's Church later, in Birkenshaw, will feature a choir from Birkenshaw primary school, as well as singers from St Paul's and the BBG Academy. It will also feature the first public performance of a song written by in memory of Jasper by his friend and her father, called A Song for Jasper. Mrs Cook said: "It's been a really difficult few years, but we are I think pulling through. "I think what we've been doing with the heart screening has really given us a little bit of focus. The BBC Make a Difference Awards are organised to thank and recognise people who want to improve the lives of people in the communities where they live, with the winners due to be announced at a ceremony in Bradford on 13 September Mrs Cook was nominated by a family friend who said: "It is truly remarkable that the family, despite their utter grief in dealing with the tragic loss of their young son, are honouring his memory by doing all that they can to prevent other families having to go through what they have suffered." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Free heart checks in memory of eight-year-old boy Cardiac Risk in the Young
