Rubbish dating back decades discovered in borough parks

RUBBISH RESULT: Everyday waste can go years without
degrading.

LITTER picks in the north of the borough are regularly uncovering rubbish strewn among trees or hedgerows which dates back years, if not decades.
Sunny Luke, a member of the Facebook group Talking Rubbish Solihull, is among the dedicated volunteers trying to clean up public spaces - filling multiple bags with bottles, wrappings and other waste during their spare time.
During one sweep of Lanchester Park, Smith's Wood, a crisp packet was retrieved which had an expiry date of 2009.
A few days later a Walkers bag was picked up which appeared to date from 2006, if not 1996 (the best-before-date was smudged and difficult to read).
Although even these finds were trumped by a crisp packet collected on the other side of the borough, in Damsonwood, earlier this month which dated from July 1987.
The salt and vinegar snack bag was promoting Star Wars and had aged almost as well as the sci-fi film franchise; the colours had faded slightly, but the bag itself was intact and most of the writing on the back was perfectly legible.
In recent months there has been renewed concern about the problem that plastic waste is causing the environment.
At the start of the year, Prime Minister Theresa May committed to eliminate all avoidable plastic rubbish by 2042, although some have argued the Government needs to do more.
Previous studies have suggested that everyday items such as carrier bags , toothbrushes and plastic coffee cups could take centuries to biodegrade.