Latest news with #NeilCollett
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Litter warning after 50-year-old crisp packet find in Rotherham
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 Collett, 53, found the crisp bags near Redscope Primary School in Rotherham when he was picking up litter on 24 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.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Litter-picker shocked to find 50 year old crisp packets in hedgerow
A litter picker was "shocked" to find a retro 50-year-old crisp packet in a hedgerow. Neil Collett, 53, found the discarded packet at an old primary school - that was dumped before he even started going to one. The vending operator found the vintage snack remnants when he delved into the depths of a hedgerow outside Redscope Primary School in Rotherham, Yorkshire. On the packaging the Smith Ready Salted Crisps were priced at 15p while a bag of similar size in the UK today would cost around £1.50. After returning home Neil said he conducted his own research into the bags and was able to pin it down exactly to March 1975, due to it featuring a marketing promotion. But he has said there was also a "serious message" behind the discovery - as abandoned litter can take a lifetime to degrade.
ITV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Rotherham litter picker discovers 50-year-old crisp packets in hedge
A litter picker was surprised to discover two 50-year-old crisp packets in a hedge in Rotherham. Neil Collett, from the S61 Litter Pickers group, found the packaging for Golden Wonder and Smiths Crisps while out collecting rubbish near a school on 24 May. After researching a promotion on one of the packets, he discovered it ended on 28th March 1975, making it at least 50 years old. In a post on Facebook he said: "50 years ago, now that's scary. Litter can stay around for decades. Bin it." Smiths Crisps was brought under the same ownership as Walkers in 1982, with many of its products rebranded under the Walkers name. Once the most popular crisp brand in the UK, Golden Wonder crisps are still produced today, but Walkers are now more popular.
