COMMUNITY
Park Up and Pick Up... ...MOTORHOMING ACROSS EUROPE THROUGH LOCKDOWN (with Theodore The Cat!) words and images supplied by Philippa Alexandre We left sunny Jersey in September 2019 to travel Europe in our motorhome, with our cat. We were excited to have so many beautiful places to see but unfortunately along with that came SO much litter. After the crisp, clean mountains and forests of Germany, Austria and Slovenia we found this to be especially true along the coast of Croatia, through Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro & Albania south towards Greece. We absolutely fell in love with Croatia; it's natural beauty, crystal clear seas, long, winding coastal roads and incredible National Parks were breathtaking but the litter, especially at the sides of the roads, made us sad, angry & very frustrated. It only got worse as we headed south, each country we drove through had more litter everywhere peaking in Greece. As we entered northern Greece there was just rubbish, mostly plastic rubbish, everywhere we turned. Had we made a mistake? Should we have gone somewhere else? We loved our 5 weeks in Greece, we met some fantastic people, ate delicious food, swam in the sea in December and climbed the most magnificent mountains but were continually shocked by how much rubbish was dumped just about everywhere.
Not just in the cities either. We'd turn a corner up a winding mountain road to see a whole truck of builder's rubble had been tipped down the mountainside, or a layby on a narrow road where people have literally emptied the entire contents of their vehicles. Bags of rubbish, empty cans, bottles and wrappers caught in the hedges, even an old toilet at the side of the road!
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We have visited 16 countries since September. Along the way we try to pick up the rubbish we see and clean up the areas where we stay; from small areas to whole beaches. Picking up litter is just something I've always done, including other people's litter- often picking it up and putting it back in their hand with a "I think you dropped this". My friends will confirm that I've made them help to pick up other
