Most of the time, I carry a book and some technical materials (read: boring stuff i need to read!) with me. But, there are just days that I wanted a non-challenging read – maybe to pore over the latest news, and gossips (sshhh!!), and maybe the latest must haves.
So, yes, never mind that the articles are poorly written or that it’s a rehash of something we have read like a week ago in another paper or in the internet, the free newspapers do come in handy sometimes.
Everybody else usually leave their paper on the train, I guess it became a habit for most. As most of the time, it gets picked up by another person dying for something to read. Quite considerate, if you think about it.
Most of the time people think that leaving litter is quite antisocial, and why it doesn’t apply to leaving newspapers as well still baffles me. You’ve probably left your paper on the seat, or at the back of the seat, or even stuffed them in between the seats. But, I’ve seen people just dropping them wherever, without looking back. Grown men. Professional looking, well-dressed people. It just seemed acceptable, and nobody else would raise an eyebrow. Either that, or we are too polite to tell them off – I am guilty of this, though at times I stare them to death, but to no avail as they had their backs turned to me anyway.
It’s an eyesore. And it could be dangerous as people are likely to slip on them in stairwells.
Aside from that, they’re most likely to end up in the landfill.
The cleaning fairies do exist to clean up after us. London Underground staff, and people from one of the afternoon free papers regularly pick up what we’ve dropped. Keeping the eyesore to a minimum and nobody slips and sue them.
6,500 tons of our garbage, mostly paper, is left on the Metronet-maintained trains and stations each year. Only about half can be sent for sorting and recycling, though improvements to these figures are being made and a further 21 tonnes each week are being recycled.
Some 1.5 million of these free paper are given away in and around London each day. Note that this article is still in 2006. There are certainly more of them around today. An interesting aspect in this article is that, we are all paying for those “free” paper in the form of our council tax – for clearing up, to be put into the landfill, incinerated or recycled. Not to mention the costs to the environment. I think our council tax can be of better use elsewhere.
It might be helpful to note, that at least some of these free papers are doing something to help. Publisher of London Lite and the London Paper, have each installed 35 bins in the West End and Victoria. And the London Paper “uses environmentally friendly ink that can be broken down without specialist recycling techniques”. Too little help, I think, but it is a start.
Meanwhile, I think I’ll just stick to my books and technical reads to keep me entertained in the Underground. I don’t really want the free papers to print any more copies for my sake.
