People are leaving litter behind at parks and beauty spots (Picture: Getty) As lockdown slowly lifts, people are descending on outdoor spaces. But after watching the natural world thrive over the past four months – with wildlife returning to tourist-free cities and pollution levels lowering – humans have been quick to leave their mark on beauty spots again. Images taken over recent weeks show the country's parks and beaches flooded with litter after crowds head home for the day. From Starbucks cups and picnic remains to cigarette butts and beer bottles, park-goers have been leaving a trail of their social meetups. But where has the country's litter problem suddenly come from? A change in social norms Of course, littering has always been a problem to some extent. Rubbish would be left behind at festivals and large events (and incredible teams would clean it up), and day-to-day there would be some bottles and papers scattered across parks but it seems to be worse after lockdown. Pictures of parks and beaches in recent weeks show a carpet of rubbish, which didn't usually happen every day before lockdown.
An international con artist and his partner Sara Bharat Yadav, 40, have been ordered to hand over more than £1 million after he defrauded wealthy victims to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Ayodele Oluseye Odewale, 42, trawled through public records to find information about the victims so he could apply for credit cards in his name. Investigators found £797, 431 in the bank accounts of Odewale and Yadav, along with a stash of three Patek Philippe watches valued at £199, 000. They also owned a private car registration plate worth £15, 000. The Nigerian conman and his British partner of 21 years, led lavish lifestyles, renting a home in Chiswick for £42, 000 per year, despite their combined declared annual income never exceeding £49, 000. Odewale had no job since his release from prison in 2005 while Yadav worked as an operations manager at London University Imperial College (pictured) Odewale had no job since his release from prison in 2005 while Yadav worked as an operations manager at Imperial College.
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business, science to design. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Instagram Tiktok
This is Clapham Common this morning! We really don't deserve nice things. People talk about making the world a better place, people can't even pick up their litter — Stephen Bailey (@stephencomedy) June 28, 2020 Dr Konstantinos Arfanis – a lecturer in psychology at Arden University – says that due to the fact that lockdown drastically changed everyday activities, people have altered their behaviour as a result. He tells 'Under normal circumstances, people tend to respect social conventions and norms. These are the unwritten rules and norms governing our everyday behaviour. Things we do without thinking, such as tidying up after ourselves, making use of litter boxes at street corners etc. 'When we talk about social norms, we really talk about two things: injunctive norms (what society in general approves or disapproves) and descriptive norms (what others around us do). ' 'But obviously we haven't returned to this normality as of yet. We are still in the grip of a global pandemic that has already killed hundreds of thousands of people, we have been prevented from visiting loved ones, we need a haircut – we are angry and somewhat scared.