REMARKABLE pictures show a can of 7up chucked away 34 years ago looking little different to the day it was sold.
Litter pickers posted snaps of the can as a reminder of the devastating long-term effects on the environment of dumping waste.
The date stamp on the can is still legible and shows an expiry date of June 1985 – the same month Roger Moore made his final Bond appearance in A View to a Kill.
Apart from a few small blemishes, the can appears not to have rusted or degraded in any way at all. The rim of the can is so untarnished that light used to take the picture is reflected off it.
The 330ml can was found on February 24 during a litter picking exercise in Northallerton, in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire.
The Wombles of Hambleton captioned the snaps: “You see, this is the thing. This 7UP can, found on Danby Lane, has been in the undergrowth for nearly 34 years (1985, I was just 12).
“Look at it. It looks fresh. It’s not decomposed in the slightest in 34 years. Please don’t litter. It doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. It’ll still be there tomorrow, next year, in 10 years, in 20 years…”
Georgi Anne responded online: “It’s only 6 months younger than me. It’s just insane how long this stuff lasts.”
Es-Jay Milburn wrote: “And this is the stuff that does decompose! The other stuff lasts even longer.”
Chris Faulkner said: “Must be the only product that hasn’t shrunk in 34 years!”
One comment also discussed how littering may still be an issue four decades from now.
Chris Shorten said: “Well if the throw it generation don’t mend their ways, in 35 years time they will be knee deep in it.”
Sue Thomas replied: “This planet won’t be here in 35 years. There can be a bin right beside them and they don’t use it, on the spot fines needed and fast.”
