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Ban the free newspaper distributors
55 Responses | 5866 Plays | 0% Agree | 2% Disagree
Started by justinC on
October 03 2007
There are over 1000 free newspaper distributors handing out papers in London everyday. In my opinion they are handing out more papers than the recycling will ever be able to deal with. We have to seek the ban so that less papers are being forced upon people who may or may not want to read them.
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Responses
added October 05 2007
What about if the same people who distributed the papers were paid to clean up the area around where they give them out at the end of the day?
added October 10 2007
arrrrh quick stop them! I got handed a metro the other day they are all at it. I HATE the distributors they get in your way on the street when you're in a hurry, as if the streets aren't crowded enough with tourists getting in the way! But to add to it you walk a few steps on and the top of the stairs are littered with these papers just being dumped. Let people take one if you must dont force them onto commuters.
added October 03 2007
here's the petition link http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/londonpapers/
added October 03 2007
I agree completely. These free newspapers should take more responsibility for the effect they have on the waste produced in this city and its satellite towns. The point is at least people choose to buy The Evening Standard and other newspaper/magazines, but even if you do not buy London Lite, The London Paper and The Metro, you have to put up with their mess everyday. As an editor, I know that the media can play an important role in exposing corruption, plus just providing good entertainment and information, but I think limiting these free newspapers is perfectly reasonable, given the unprecedented way in which they enter our lives through the public transport network. I think other publications such as The Big Issue and smaller independent freebies will flourish more if ‘The Big Three’ (London Lite, The Metro and The London Paper) are less prominent. There are many of us (journalists included) that believe that far from helping the press, these free newspapers are actually killing the press, as people no longer want to read good well-researched journalism, as they will be used to the quick 10-minute throw-away read these free papers provide. Of course, these papers have huge print runs, as their advertisers want to reach more and more ‘consumers’. But surely there comes a point where those of us that aren’t interested in seeing Pete Docherty or Kate Moss’s faces everyday can say ‘Enough is enough’. We want to be able to travel around our city without being bombarded with these trashy, intrusive papers. Let's clean-up this great city and save our public spaces from this media intrusion. You can join our group 'Let's shut-down London Lite and the London paper' on Facebook. I have written to my local Councillors and London Assembly about this too via www.writetothem.com See: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4621237825
added October 03 2007
Encourage people to take the papers home and recycle there... dont ban the papers!
added October 03 2007
I agree. Freesheets are a rubbish. They degrade quality journalism (I know, it’s been many year since I saw any but I live in hope), they create a huge environmental impact and not to mention the annoyance of having someone standing in the middle of a busy pavement trying to force something on you you don’t want. I do accept that they can provide a light relief for a commuter on the way home but compared to the waste and nuisance they cause I can’t see how they can be justified. Get rid of them.
added October 03 2007
Yes, and if we all took our litter home and didn't drop it on the streets or in the bins provided we wouldn't need to spend the £500 million a year we alreday spend in the UK on municipal street cleaning services. The bottom line is people aren't going to take them home because they dont think of them as their own paper which they are responsible for. btw, how would you 'encourage' people to take them home? And who do you expect to pay for this encouragement?
added October 03 2007
The environmental impact is horrible, but from a selfish point of view, I just hate papers waved in my face everywhere I go. If you walk past a couple of tube stops on your journey it is like doing an obstacle course to get across town
added October 03 2007
The simple fact that they are free means that the people who read them dont feel as though they are responsible for them. After all, if something is free then you dont lose much by throwing it away do you? It didn't cost you anything. The mess they make on London's buses, trains and streets is APPALLING. The papers say they encourage recycling, which is just a typical cop-out. Get rid of them entirely, if you want a paper then dig into your pocket and buy the damn thing. And I do wish the distributors wouldn't shove them in my face EVERY day at Old Street. Makes me want to punch them.