Jake Fiennes calls for 'societal change' as rubbish bags pile up

Mr Fiennes, head of conservation at the estate, believes the world needs "societal change" in order to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce, after bags of rubbish piled up by a dog waste bin on Lady Anne’s Drive on Sunday (July 17).

Mr Fiennes said on Twitter that the area had been cleaned by staff and was left in an “immaculate” condition at 6pm, and the car park gates are closed at 9pm.

But staff were greeted with dozens of bags of waste when they arrived for work this morning.

Mr Fiennes said he was not having a go at the people who came along to the coast to cool off over the weekend.

“It is more about the society we live in, and the way we purchase our food, wrapped in plastic,” he said.

“It is much bigger than the people who visited, it is just the way the last two generations have been brought up in a society where we have a disposable lifestyle.

“Everything we purchase, when the new phone comes out we want it, we upgrade our car every three years rather than after 15.

“We need to reduce what we extract from natural resources, the way society leads its life, and the impact it's having on the planet, it cannot keep up with it.

“This is about the way we lead our lives, that picture captures it, we use it and throw it away and the seismic shift we need on how we do things is an enormous undertaking.”

A spokesperson for the estate has pleaded with people to become more responsible with the waste they generate when visiting any location this summer.

They have asked people to either separate their rubbish or take it home, as those few seconds can not only help to reduce unrecycled waste and protect the beautiful landscapes but also saves the team at Holkham from having to unnecessarily manhandle rubbish.

Sue Penlington, sustainability manager at Holkham, has asked people to not bring barbecues, stoves or start fires at the site, especially with the dry weather, there is a high risk of fires breaking out of control.