Pedestrian shares heartbreaking discovery during nature walk in England: 'Sad and fascinating'

Sometimes, sharing pictures of trash is much more powerful than any lecture one could give.

That is what the operator of the TikTok account ECLP (@eaglescliffeclp) — who is "busy picking up people's discarded crap in Eaglescliffe, North East England" as part of the Eaglescliffe Community Litter Project — sought to do when sharing on the platform a selection of pictures of their litter picks.

@eaglescliffeclp Dropped and forgotten many moons ago. Probably without a second thought. Litter doesn't magically disappear. Don't be a tosser. #litter #litterpicking #cleantok #cleanup #keepbritaintidy ♬ Sun - Adrian Berenguer

"Dropped and forgotten many moons ago. Probably without a second thought," they explained in the caption to their video. Many moons indeed, as some of their findings appear to date back to the late 1970s.

"Litter doesn't magically disappear," the TikToker said.

From an empty bag of chips to a punctured can of orangeade whose lettering is as readable as it was decades ago, the discoveries are often "a sort of weirdly depressing treasure," the creator wrote in the comments section. "The materials, shapes, old ring pulls, sizes, branding — all slightly different from food packaging today. Strangely familiar. Makes me feel old!"

"It's both sad and fascinating to see a piece of food packaging dropped over 20+ years ago is still intact," one TikTok user pointed out. "I think companies have a moral obligation to the planet to make this stuff more biodegradable."

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Thankfully, ECLP is not the only one aware of the impacts that littering has on the environment. According to the United Nations, plastic waste can take up to 500 years to decompose, "and even then, it never fully disappears; it just gets smaller and smaller."

The figures are just as scary for aluminum, which is fully recyclable: It takes from 200 to 500 years to fully degrade.

So, if you don't want microplastics and other toxic materials to be washed into rivers and blown into forests, "Don't be a tosser," the creator stated. Preserve your right to clean air, water, and soil. Preserve your right to a toxin-free environment.